Supreme Court of Georgia, (November 14, 1978)
Docket number: 34201
SUBMITTED
MARSHALL, Justice. - SUBMITTED
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Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur, except Hall, J., who concurs in Divisions 2, 3, 4 and the judgment.

U.S. Supreme Court - Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387 (1977)
U.S. Supreme Court - Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684 (1975)
Supreme Court of Georgia - STEVENS v. THE STATE., 242 Ga. 34, 247 S.E.2.d 838 (1978)
Supreme Court of Georgia - BERRYHILL v. RICKETTS., 242 Ga. 447, 249 S.E.2.d 197
Supreme Court of Georgia - LEE v. THE STATE., 239 Ga. 769, 238 S.E.2.d 852 (1977)
Georgia Court Of Appeals - Brown v. The State., 162 Ga. App. 198, 290 S.E.2d 540 (1982)
Supreme Court of Georgia - MITCHELL v. THE STATE., 254 Ga. 353, 329 S.E.2.d 481 (1985)
Georgia Court Of Appeals - Askew v. The State., 193 Ga. App. 61, 387 S.E.2d 25 (1989)
Georgia Court Of Appeals - Farmer v. The State., 222 Ga. App. 506, 474 S.E.2d 711 (1996)
Supreme Court of Georgia - IRWIN v. THE STATE., 244 Ga. 850, 262 S.E.2.d 99
Georgia Court Of Appeals - Geckles v. The State., 177 Ga. App. 70, 338 S.E.2d 473 (1985)
Supreme Court of Georgia - EVANS v. THE STATE., 245 Ga. 592, 266 S.E.2.d 201 (1980)
Supreme Court of Georgia - WILSON v. THE STATE., 246 Ga. 62, 268 S.E.2.d 895 (1980)
Robert Keller, District Attorney, James W. Bradley, Assistant District Attorney, Arthur K. Bolton, Attorney General, G. Stephen Parker, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.Garland, Nuckolls, Kadish, Cook & Weisensee, Mark J. Kadish, Rhonda Brofman, Reuben A. Garland, for appellant (Case No. 34202).James Spain, Jr., pro se (Case No. 34201).
The appellant, James Spain, Jr., and Johnny William Foster were indicted for the murder of Willie Little. They were tried separately, but he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Following the denial of his motion for new trial, he appeals. We affirm.Several state's witnesses testified that on the morning of March 18, 1977, they had seen the appellant, accompanied by a man identified as Johnny William Foster, shoot the victim in the parking lot of McDonald's restaurant in Forest Park, Georgia. The evidence further showed that the appellant and the victim were coworkers; they had been bickering for years over a fan, which was used by the victim to keep dust and particles out of his face, but which extremely annoyed the appellant.Following his arrest shortly after the shooting, the appellant was given his Miranda warnings, but he executed a written waiver of his right to remain silent and his right to have an attorney present. He proceeded to give a statement to the police admitting that he had enlisted the aid of Foster to help him beat up the victim at the McDonald's restaurant, where the victim took his morning coffee. He admitted shooting the victim in the parking lot of the restaurant and then fleeing the scene. Following a Jackson-Denno hearing, this statement was admitted in evidence, and the appellant does not contest its admissibility in this appeal.1. In the first enumeration of error, the appellant argues that the trial court erred in ruling that his Sixth Amendment right to counsel was not violated when police took an oral statement from him at the county jail in the absence of his attorney.The police officers to whom this statement was given testified that they had gone to the county jail on March 24 to further interrogate the appellant concerning Foster's involvement in the murder. The appellant was given his Miranda warnings, but he refused to sign the waiver-of-rights form because his attorney had instructed him not to sign anything. However, the appellant stated to the police officer that he would cooperate with them and tell them anything they wanted to know. Following a Jackson-Denno hearing outside the jury's presence, the trial court ruled that the appellant had made a knowing and voluntary waiver of his right to have his attorney present prior to making this statement. Accordingly, the trial court ruled that the statement was admissible in evidence.Factual and credibility determinations of this sort will not be reversed by the appellate court unless clearly erroneous. Berryhill v. Ricketts,Try vLex for FREE for 3 days
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