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Lebisv.The State

CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
Docket No.S17A0948
DecidedDecember 11, 2017
JudgesSupreme Court of Georgia
Tags
CriminalCriminal LawCriminal ProcedureSufficiency of the EvidenceIneffective Assistance of CounselMergerReversalTales From the CryptMurder & Mayhem
Case Summary

Lisa Ann Lebis was convicted of felony murder and numerous offenses after police found her with a man who had shot and killed an officer. The State relied on evidence of her presence, her relationship with the shooter, her conduct after the shooting, and her possession of firearms and other weapons. The Supreme Court of Georgia held that the evidence was sufficient to support the felony-murder conviction and most of the possession and obstruction convictions, including the inferences that Lebis knowingly possessed contraband and was involved in the events surrounding the officer’s death. The court nevertheless concluded that the evidence did not support two misdemeanor obstruction convictions because the State failed to prove the required obstruction of the particular officers charged. Those two convictions were reversed, while the remaining challenged convictions were affirmed. The court also rejected Lebis’s ineffective-assistance claims.

Opinion

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