Wright v. State, 569 S.E.2d 537 (Ga. 2002). · Go Syfert
Wright v. State, 569 S.E.2d 537 (Ga. 2002). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
26 citation events (26 in the last 25 years) across 2 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: Adams v. State (gactapp, 2009-11-05)
Treatment trajectory · 2002 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
2002 2014 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 9 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Adams v. State
Ga. Ct. App. · 2009 · confidence medium
Smith, P. J., and Bernes, J., concur. 1 261 Ga. 625 ( 409 SE2d 839 ) (1991), overruled on other grounds, Clark v. State, 271 Ga. 6, 9-10 (5) ( 515 SE2d 155 ) (1999). 2 Mallory, supra at 630 (5). 3 285 Ga. 70 ( 673 SE2d 854 ) (2009). 4 Id. at 71 . 5 Whitaker v. State, 283 Ga. 521, 524 (3) ( 661 SE2d 557 ) (2008) (citation and punctuation omitted); see Hill v. State, 250 Ga. 277, 283 (4) (a) ( 295 SE2d 518 ) (1982) (improper reference to a defendant’s silence does not automatically require reversal). 6 See Berryhill v. State, 285 Ga. 198, 203 (5) ( 674 SE2d 920 ) (2009) (where trial court gave…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Henry v. State
Ga. · 2004 · confidence medium
Although we have noted on numerous occasions since our holding in Mallory v. State, 261 Ga. 625 (5) ( 409 SE2d 839 ) (1991), that evidence concerning pre-trial silence, including a failure to come forward, is more prejudicial than probative of any relevant fact and should be excluded, see Pearson v. State, 277 Ga. 813 (5) (c) ( 596 SE2d 582 ) (2004); Rickman v. State, 277 Ga. 277 (4) ( 587 SE2d 596 ) (2003); Wright v. State, 275 Ga. 427, 428 (2) ( 569 SE2d 537 ) (2002), overruled on other grounds, Wilson v. State, 277 Ga. 195, 199 (2) ( 586 SE2d 669 ) (2003), an improper reference to a defenda…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Lyons v. State
Ga. Ct. App. · 2004 · confidence medium
J., and Phipps, J., concur. 1 Cockrell v. State, 248 Ga. App. 359 (1) ( 545 SE2d 600 ) (2001). 2 (Citation omitted.) Odett v. State, 273 Ga. 353 -354 (1) ( 541 SE2d 29 ) (2001). 3 Parnell v. State, 260 Ga. App. 213, 218 (6) ( 581 SE2d 263 ) (2003). 4 Pinson v. State, 266 Ga. App. 254, 255 (1) ( 596 SE2d 734 ) (2004); Skaggs-Ferrell v. State, 266 Ga. App. 248, 250 (1) ( 596 SE2d 743 ) (2004). 5 Clark v. State, 271 Ga. 6, 13 (7) (b) ( 515 SE2d 155 ) (1999). 6 Fults v. State, 274 Ga. 82, 83-84 (2) ( 548 SE2d 315 ) (2001). 7 Kilpatrick v. State, 252 Ga. App. 900, 902 (1) ( 557 SE2d 460 ) (2001). 8…
discussed Cited "see" Mark Wright v. State (2×)
Ga. Ct. App. · 2019 · signal: see · confidence high
See Wright v. State, 275 Ga. 427 ( 569 SE2d 537 ) (2002), overruled in part by Wilson v. State, 277 Ga. 195 ( 586 SE2d 669 ) (2003).
discussed Cited "see" Mark Wright v. State (2×)
Ga. Ct. App. · 2019 · signal: see · confidence high
See Wright v. State, 275 Ga. 427 ( 569 SE2d 537 ) (2002), overruled in part by Wilson v. State, 277 Ga. 195 ( 586 SE2d 669 ) (2003).1 In March 2018, Wright filed a motion for an out-of-time appeal, seeking an opportunity to raise ineffectiveness-of-counsel claims.
discussed Cited "see" Lenoir v. State (2×)
Ga. Ct. App. · 2013 · signal: see · confidence high
Pearson v. State, 277 Ga. 813, 817 (5) (c) ( 596 SE2d 582 ) (2004) (citation and punctuation omitted); see Wright v. State, 275 Ga. 427 -428 (2) ( 569 SE2d 537 ) (2002), overruled on other grounds, Wilson v. State, 277 Ga. 195, 199 (2) ( 586 SE2d 669 ) (2003).
discussed Cited "see" Emmett Lenoir v. State (2×)
Ga. Ct. App. · 2013 · signal: see · confidence high
Specifically, Lenoir cites the detective’s testimony that: (i) after Miranda rights were read to him during transport to the county jail, he said nothing; and (ii) after Miranda rights were read to him in the detective’s office, he asked for a lawyer. 16 Long v. State, 287 Ga. 886, 891 (4) ( 700 SE2d 399 ) (2010), citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U. S. 668 ( 104 SCt 2052 , 80 LEd2d 674 ) (1984). 17 See Division 2, supra. 13 “Certainly, the fact that a defendant has exercised the right to remain silent is not to be used against the defendant at trial.”18 Pretermitting whether trial …
discussed Cited "see" Rickman v. State (2×)
Ga. · 2003 · signal: see · confidence high
See Wright v. State, 275 Ga. 427,428 ( 569 SE2d 537 ) (2002); *282 Barnes v. State, 269 Ga. 345, 352 ( 496 SE2d 674 ) (1998).
discussed Cited "see" Trigger v. State (2×)
Ga. · 2002 · signal: see · confidence high
See Suggested Pattern Jury Instructions, Vol. II, Criminal Cases, 2nd ed., Part 4 (B) (1) (c), p. 69. 16 261 Ga. 865 ( 414 SE2d 463 ) (1992). 17 See Wright v. State, 275 Ga. 427, 429 ( 569 SE2d 537 ) (2002); Hufstetler v. State, 274 Ga. 343, 345 (3) ( 553 SE2d 801 ) (2001); Thompkins v. State, 272 Ga. 835, 836 (2) (c) ( 536 SE2d 747 ) (2000).
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
Wright
v.
the State
S02A0533.
Supreme Court of Georgia.
Sep 16, 2002.
569 S.E.2d 537
2002 Ga. LEXIS 648
Axams, Adams & Secret, Tony L. Axam, for appellant., Paul L. Howard, Jr., District Attorney, Bettieanne C. Hart, Marc A. Mallon, Assistant District Attorneys, Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General, Ruth M. Bebko, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.
Thompson.
Cited by 13 opinions  |  Published
Thompson, Justice.

Defendant Mark Wright was convicted of malice murder in connection with the death of Michael Platt. [1] He appeals asserting, inter alia, the State violated his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent because the arresting officer testified that he did not make a statement at the time of his arrest. We find no error requiring reversal, and affirm.

1. Viewing the evidence in a light favorable to the verdict, as we are bound to do, [2] we find the following:

Wright agreed to meet Platt at an apartment complex in Atlanta. When the two met, Wright pushed Platt and they began to fight. They scuffled on the sidewalk for four or five minutes until George Wheeler, Platt’s friend, and another individual pulled them apart. Then Wright backed into the street and pulled a pistol from under his sweatshirt. Platt tried to run, but he tripped. Wright started shooting Platt; he continued to shoot him as he remained on the ground. All told, Wright shot Platt six times — three times in the head. He died at the scene.

The evidence is sufficient to enable any rational trier of fact to find Wright guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of malice murder. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).

2. Wright was arrested more than seven months after the shooting. He was taken into custody by Detective Jim Rose who found Wright in the course of searching Wright’s girlfriend’s apartment. Wright asserts his Fifth Amendment rights were violated when Rose testified that Wright did not make any statements or answer any questions at the time of his arrest.

[*428] Rose testified as follows:
Rose: Once I got the search warrant for Mr. Wright the warrant was executed and Mr. Wright was located in the attic area and arrested and brought outside.
Prosecutor: And what did you do with him once he was placed under arrest?
Rose: Once he was placed under arrest I transported him. He didn’t make any statements to me. He didn’t answer any questions. I asked him what his name was. He didn’t —
Defense: Excuse me. May we approach very briefly, Judge? Court: No. But you can preserve whatever that is until later. Defense: Thank you.
Court: Go ahead.
Rose: He didn’t make any statements. I asked if he was Mark Wright and he didn’t answer me. So at that point I figured it was proper procedure to bring him back to our police station, bring him to our identification unit, have him fingerprinted to positively identify who he was.

Assuming arguendo that Rose’s testimony constituted an improper comment upon Wright’s silence, we find that it was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Hill v. State, 250 Ga. 277, 283 (295 SE2d 518) (1982) (improper reference to a defendant’s silence does not automatically require reversal); Sims v. State, 213 Ga. App. 151, 152 (444 SE2d 121) (1994) (same). After all, Wright never formulated an objection; thus, it is doubtful, at best, that he preserved the error for appellate review. Hill, supra. Moreover, it appears that the comment “was inadvertent and unresponsive on the part of the witness, and was not an intentional reference by the prosecution to the silence of the defendant where an innocent man would protest his innocence.” Sims, supra. As in Hill, “the prosecutor made no reference to and did not attempt to capitalize on [defendant’s] pretrial silence during closing arguments.” Last, but not least, the evidence against Wright was overwhelming. Thus, error, if any, in the admission of Rose’s comment does not require this Court to reverse Wright’s conviction.

3. The trial court did not err in refusing to charge the jury that it could consider whether a State’s witness was testifying under a grant of immunity. See Hines v. State, 249 Ga. 257, 260 (290 SE2d 911) (1982). There was absolutely no evidence that a State’s witness was motivated to testify by an offer of immunity or leniency. Burgess v. State, 264 Ga. 777, 786 (25) (450 SE2d 680) (1994).

[*429] 4. After the State rested, the defense presented the testimony of two witnesses; then Wright took the stand and testified on his own behalf. In the midst of Wright’s testimony, the defense sought an in camera inspection of a sealed order which had been entered in an unrelated case.

That case involved the prosecution of one of the State’s witnesses - George Wheeler - for felony possession of marijuana. Wheeler testified that he pled guilty and received first offender treatment; the defense cross-examined him with regard to that plea.

The trial court denied the motion for an in camera inspection of the sealed order entered in the prosecution of Wheeler. We find no error. The motion was made long after the State’s witness testified and, therefore, was untimely. See Remine v. State, 203 Ga. App. 30, 31 (3) (416 SE2d 326) (1992). Moreover, Wright made no attempt to properly procure the record in the witness’ case. Compare Mangum v. State, 274 Ga. 573, 574 (2) (555 SE2d 451) (2001), in which, at a pretrial hearing, the defense informed the trial court that it attempted to subpoena the juvenile records of certain witnesses who were scheduled to testify for the State.

5. Wright objected and moved for a mistrial when Agent John Harvey testified that Craig Evans, told him Wright was involved in a “murder” and an assault on a witness to a “murder.” In that regard, Wright argued that the use of the word “murder” amounted to a legal conclusion and prejudiced the defense. The trial court overruled Wright’s mistrial motion.

“The granting or refusing of a motion for mistrial is necessarily a matter largely within the discretion of the trial judge, and unless it is apparent that a mistrial is essential to the preservation of the right to a fair trial, the exercise of the judge’s discretion will not be interfered with.” Stanley v. State, 250 Ga. 3, 4 (295 SE2d 315) (1982). Inasmuch as Agent Harvey merely repeated the words which Evans used, and Evans testified next, we find no abuse of discretion in the denial of Wright’s motion for mistrial.

Contrary to Wright’s contention, James v. State, 270 Ga. 675 (513 SE2d 207) (1999) does not stand for the proposition that a trial judge must give a curative instruction whenever a witness uses the word “murder.” That the trial judge in that case gave such an instruction was simply one of several factors showing no abuse of discretion.

6. Following his conviction, Wright obtained new counsel who filed a motion for a new trial and asserted, inter alia, that trial counsel was ineffective. However, new counsel did not seek, and the trial court did not hold, an evidentiary hearing upon the ineffectiveness claim. It follows that the claim of trial counsel’s ineffectiveness was waived. Ray v. State, 259 Ga. 868, 870 (12) (389 SE2d 326) (1990).

Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur. [*430] Decided September 16, 2002. Axams, Adams & Secret, Tony L. Axam, for appellant. Paul L. Howard, Jr., District Attorney, Bettieanne C. Hart, Marc A. Mallon, Assistant District Attorneys, Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General, Ruth M. Bebko, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.
1

The crime occurred on November 16, 1997. The grand jury indicted Wright on February 10, 1998, charging him with malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault. Trial commenced on March 20, 2000. The jury found Wright guilty on all counts of the indictment. On March 28, the trial court sentenced Wright to life in prison for malice murder and merged the remaining counts of the indictment with the malice murder count. Wright filed a timely motion for a new trial which was denied on October 26, 2001. Wright filed a notice of appeal on November 14, 2001. The case was docketed in this Court on December 21, 2001, and submitted for a decision on the briefs on February 11, 2002.

2

Willis v. State, 263 Ga. 597, 598 (436 SE2d 204) (1993).