Golson v. State

306 Ga. 101

• Court: Supreme Court of Georgia
• Decided: June 3, 2019
• Docket: S19A0565
• Status: Published

Opinion

306 Ga. 101 FINAL COPY

S19A0565. GOLSON v. THE STATE.

BLACKWELL, Justice.

Adrian Lamar Golson was tried by a Tift County jury and

convicted of murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Arlester

Jackson, Jr. Golson appeals, claiming only that he was denied the

effective assistance of counsel. He failed, however, to preserve that

claim for appellate review, and we affirm.1

1. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the

evidence shows that Golson and Jackson were engaged in a

prolonged dispute for several weeks in October 2012. On the evening

1 Jackson was killed in October 2012. A Tift County grand jury indicted

Golson in September 2015, charging him with murder with malice aforethought, murder in the commission of a felony (aggravated assault), and aggravated assault. Golson was tried in September 2015. The jury acquitted Golson of malice murder but found him guilty of felony murder and aggravated assault. The trial court sentenced Golson to imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole for murder, and the aggravated assault merged into the murder. Golson timely filed a motion for new trial, and the trial court denied that motion in March 2018. Golson then timely filed a notice of appeal. The case was docketed in this Court for the April 2019 term and submitted for decision on the briefs. of October 27, Golson encountered Jackson on Cherry Street in Ty

Ty, Georgia. Golson was carrying a .380 pistol, but Jackson was

unarmed. Golson confronted Jackson, asking Jackson about threats

that had been attributed to him. Jackson responded: “[Y]ou heard

what . . . I said.” Golson then shot Jackson six times, twice in the

head. Jackson died at the scene. The evidence presented at trial,

when viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, is sufficient

to authorize a rational trier of fact to find beyond a reasonable doubt

that Golson is guilty of the crime of which he was convicted. See

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307, 319 (III) (B) (99 SCt 2781, 61

LE2d 560) (1979).

2. Golson claims that he was denied the effective assistance of

counsel at trial because his lawyer failed to object to testimony about

statements made by Jackson on the day that he was killed. Golson,

however, did not raise this claim below, notwithstanding that he was

represented by new counsel in connection with his motion for new

trial and had an opportunity to raise it. See Chatman v. Mancill, 280

Ga. 253, 255 (1) (626 SE2d 102) (2006). Because Golson failed to raise the claim “at the earliest practicable moment,” he failed to

preserve this claim for appellate review. See Bailey v. State, 264 Ga.

300, 300 (443 SE2d 836) (1994).

Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.

Decided June 3, 2019.

Murder. Tift Superior Court. Before Judge Crosby, Senior Judge.

H. Burton Baker, for appellant.

C. Paul Bowden, District Attorney, Robert A. Rogers, Assistant

District Attorney; Christopher M. Carr, Attorney General, Patricia B.

Attaway Burton, Deputy Attorney General, Paula K. Smith, Senior

Assistant Attorney General, Ashleigh D. Headrick, Assistant Attorney

General, for appellee.