Cowart v. State

Supreme Court of Georgia

Cowart v. State

227 S.E.2d 248, 237 Ga. 282, 1976 Ga. LEXIS 1231

CourtSupreme Court of Georgia

DecidedJune 30, 1976

Docket30777

StatusPublished

Cited by4 cases

This text of 227 S.E.2d 248 (Cowart v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Cowart v. State, 227 S.E.2d 248, 237 Ga. 282, 1976 Ga. LEXIS 1231 (Ga. 1976).

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Opinions

Jordan, Justice.

Mike Cowart was convicted of criminal attempt to commit statutory rape, and his conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. Cowart v. State, 136 Ga. App. 528 (221 SE2d 649) (1975). We granted certiorari to consider a burden-shifting charge by the trial judge on the appellant’s affirmative defense of abandonment of the effort to commit the crime. Code Ann. § 26-1003 (Ga. L. [283]*2831968, pp. 1249, 1275). The trial judge instructed the jury that this defense must be made to appear by a preponderance of the evidence.

Argued April 12, 1976 Decided June 30, 1976 Rehearing denied July 14, 1976. . John W. Timmons, Jr., Jack H. Affleck, for appellant. Harry N. Gordon, District Attorney, B. Thomas Cook, Jr., Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.

hi State v. Moore, 237 Ga. 269 (1976), this court held that it was not error to give a similar charge on the affirmative defense of coercion, but that such a burden-shifting charge would not be approved in cases tried after the final date of that decision.

Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur, except Gunter, Ingram, and Hill, JJ., who dissent.

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Jordan, Justice.

Mike Cowart was convicted of criminal attempt to commit statutory rape, and his conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. Cowart v. State, 136 Ga. App. 528 (221 SE2d 649) (1975). We granted certiorari to consider a burden-shifting charge by the trial judge on the appellant’s affirmative defense of abandonment of the effort to commit the crime. Code Ann. § 26-1003 (Ga. L. [283]*2831968, pp. 1249, 1275). The trial judge instructed the jury that this defense must be made to appear by a preponderance of the evidence.

Argued April 12, 1976 Decided June 30, 1976 Rehearing denied July 14, 1976. . John W. Timmons, Jr., Jack H. Affleck, for appellant. Harry N. Gordon, District Attorney, B. Thomas Cook, Jr., Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.

hi State v. Moore, 237 Ga. 269 (1976), this court held that it was not error to give a similar charge on the affirmative defense of coercion, but that such a burden-shifting charge would not be approved in cases tried after the final date of that decision.

Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur, except Gunter, Ingram, and Hill, JJ., who dissent.

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Bluebook (online)

227 S.E.2d 248, 237 Ga. 282, 1976 Ga. LEXIS 1231, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cowart-v-state-ga-1976.

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