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Kelly Stroudv.The State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A17A1679
DecidedMarch 1, 2018
JudgesCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Tags
CriminalCriminal ProcedureFourth AmendmentSearch and SeizureMotion to SuppressJury InstructionsSufficiency of the EvidencePlain ErrorReversalVacaturRemand
Case Summary

Kelly Stroud was convicted of possessing cocaine, failing to maintain lane, and driving with a suspended license. On appeal, he challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, the denial of his suppression motion, and the trial court’s refusal to give requested instructions on equal access and circumstantial evidence. The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the suspended-license conviction but reversed the failure-to-maintain-lane conviction because the evidence did not establish that offense. It vacated the suppression ruling because the trial court had not decided whether impounding Stroud’s vehicle was reasonably necessary under the circumstances. The court also held that the failure to give the requested circumstantial-evidence charge was plain error affecting the cocaine charge because the jury was not instructed that the State had to exclude every reasonable hypothesis other than guilt. The judgment was therefore affirmed in part, reversed in part, vacated in part, and remanded for further proceedings.

Opinion

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