WHOLE COURT
NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be physically received in our clerk’s office within ten days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed. http://www.gaappeals.us/rules/
November 21, 2014
In the Court of Appeals of Georgia A14A1302. JOHNSON v. THE STATE.
BOGGS, Judge.
A jury convicted Gregory Bernard Johnson of misdemeanor obstruction of an
officer, and he appeals. Johnson argues that the evidence was not sufficient to sustain
the conviction, and that the trial court erred in denying several of his requests to
charge the jury. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
Evidentiary challenges in the appeal of criminal convictions are viewed in the
light most favorable to the verdict. Chambers v. State, 252 Ga. App. 190, 190 (1)
(556 SE2d 444) (2001). On appeal the defendant no longer enjoys the presumption
of innocence, and the appellate court determines not the credibility of the witnesses
or the weight of the evidence, but rather its sufficiency; that is, it determines whether any rational trier of fact could find the evidence sufficient to establish the defendant’s
guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.
So viewed, the record shows that police officers were on their way to execute
a search warrant at the house of the mother of Johnson’s son, where officers thought
the son lived. The officers saw the son driving nearby and he agreed to accompany
them to his mother’s house, but he did not have his house key. The officers forced the
door open and began their search. The son was in the back seat of a patrol car during
the search.
The son’s mother came home shortly after the police began searching,
accompanied by the son’s cousin, and the mother asked the officers for their search
warrant. They told her she could see it when they were done and then ignored her
request for them to leave if they did not have a search warrant. The cousin testified
that she was protesting loudly on the front porch about the officers’ breaking down
the door and conducting a warrantless search. At some point, the officers asked the
mother to close the front door because the cousin was protesting so loudly but
otherwise ignored the two women and continued their search. The cousin testified
that when she said loudly that she was about to call the chief of police about the
2 officers breaking into the house without a warrant, an officer left the scene about an
hour into the search and returned with a copy of a search warrant.
Meanwhile, defendant Johnson came into the front yard. The cousin told
Johnson that the officers only obtained a warrant after they had broken down the door
and searched the premises for an hour, and Johnson responded, “[I]f that’s the case,
then you have your witnesse[s] together when you come [to] court, [and] the judge
will dismiss it because . . . it was wrong.” One of the officers had just photographed
the back of the house and another picture of the front when Johnson began yelling,
“This s--t’s not going to fly.” The officer told him to calm down, be quiet, and let him
finish documenting the scene, after which he would let Johnson talk to his son.
The officer testified that he explained to Johnson that because he did not live
there, he did not have a right to be present and therefore needed to step over to
another property, but Johnson refused to leave. According to the officer, Johnson’s
continued “hollering and cussing . . . got everybody else yelling and screaming” a
couple of houses down. He testified that he was concerned for his and other officer’s
safety and could not simply ignore Johnson, because “when I’m trying to take
pictures and someone standing behind me hollering and cussing I don’t know what
they’re fixing - - and I’ve got a gun on my side, I’ve got to deal with him. I can’t take
3 a chance of them grabbing my gun and I don’t know what they’re going to do in that
state of mind.” The officer testified that he asked Johnson “a minimum of three times”
to calm down and let him do his job before arresting him for obstruction. Finally, the
officer stated that Johnson’s conduct prevented him from continuing to photograph
the scene and going inside to collect evidence; it also caused another officer to stop
his activities inside the house and come outside to assist.
Johnson was charged by accusation with the misdemeanor offense of
obstruction of an officer,
for that [he] . . . did knowingly and willfully obstruct and hinder . . . a law enforcement officer with the Polk County Police Department in the lawful discharge of his official duties, by screaming, cursing, and hindering said officer from performing his search and gathering evidence while [executing] a search warrant, in violation of OCGA § 16- 10-24 (a).
OCGA § 16-10-24 (a) provides in pertinent part: “[A] person who knowingly and
willfully obstructs or hinders any law enforcement officer in the lawful discharge of
his official duties is guilty of a misdemeanor.”
1. Johnson contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his
conviction because the State failed to prove that his “speech rose to the level of
obstruction as defined by law.” The evidence established that he never physically
4 obstructed the officer, and therefore, he argues, the issue is whether his words
themselves could reasonably be considered obstruction. We disagree.
(a) Citing Woodward v. Gray, 241 Ga. App. 847, 849 (a) (527 SE2d 595)
(2000), and Ballew v. State, 245 Ga. App. 842, 843 (1) (538 SE2d 902) (2000),
Johnson asserts that speech alone cannot constitute obstruction unless its content
could reasonably be interpreted to constitute a threat of violence to the officer,
because “a mere verbal exchange with an officer” unaccompanied by threats of
violence is not obstruction.
But Ballew, Woodward, and numerous other cases holding that the State must
present evidence of a threat of violence to sustain a conviction for obstruction of an
officer relied on definitions of obstruction that arose out of “an older version of
OCGA § 16-10-24, under which force or violence was considered an essential
element of the misdemeanor offense of obstruction. [Cits.]” Stryker v. State, 297 Ga.
App. 493, 494 (677 SE2d 680) (2009). The statute was revised in 1986 to define and
separate felony obstruction, which requires threats of violence or forcible resistance,
from misdemeanor obstruction, which does not. Under the current version of OCGA
§ 16-10-24 (a), a person commits the offense of misdemeanor obstruction when he
“knowingly and willfully obstructs or hinders any law enforcement officer in the
5 lawful discharge of his official duties.” This court explicitly disapproved of both
Woodward and Ballew to the extent that they implied that misdemeanor obstruction
requires proof of “forcible resistance” or “threat of violence.” Stryker, 297 Ga. App
at 495, n.1. See also Duke v. State, 205 Ga. App. 689, 689-690 (423 SE2d 427)
(1992); Arsenault v. State, 257 Ga. App. 456, 457 (1) (a) (571 SE2d 456) (2002);
Wilcox v. State, 300 Ga. App. 35, 37-38 (2) (684 SE2d 108) (2009). 1
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WHOLE COURT
NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be physically received in our clerk’s office within ten days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed. http://www.gaappeals.us/rules/
November 21, 2014
In the Court of Appeals of Georgia A14A1302. JOHNSON v. THE STATE.
BOGGS, Judge.
A jury convicted Gregory Bernard Johnson of misdemeanor obstruction of an
officer, and he appeals. Johnson argues that the evidence was not sufficient to sustain
the conviction, and that the trial court erred in denying several of his requests to
charge the jury. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
Evidentiary challenges in the appeal of criminal convictions are viewed in the
light most favorable to the verdict. Chambers v. State, 252 Ga. App. 190, 190 (1)
(556 SE2d 444) (2001). On appeal the defendant no longer enjoys the presumption
of innocence, and the appellate court determines not the credibility of the witnesses
or the weight of the evidence, but rather its sufficiency; that is, it determines whether any rational trier of fact could find the evidence sufficient to establish the defendant’s
guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.
So viewed, the record shows that police officers were on their way to execute
a search warrant at the house of the mother of Johnson’s son, where officers thought
the son lived. The officers saw the son driving nearby and he agreed to accompany
them to his mother’s house, but he did not have his house key. The officers forced the
door open and began their search. The son was in the back seat of a patrol car during
the search.
The son’s mother came home shortly after the police began searching,
accompanied by the son’s cousin, and the mother asked the officers for their search
warrant. They told her she could see it when they were done and then ignored her
request for them to leave if they did not have a search warrant. The cousin testified
that she was protesting loudly on the front porch about the officers’ breaking down
the door and conducting a warrantless search. At some point, the officers asked the
mother to close the front door because the cousin was protesting so loudly but
otherwise ignored the two women and continued their search. The cousin testified
that when she said loudly that she was about to call the chief of police about the
2 officers breaking into the house without a warrant, an officer left the scene about an
hour into the search and returned with a copy of a search warrant.
Meanwhile, defendant Johnson came into the front yard. The cousin told
Johnson that the officers only obtained a warrant after they had broken down the door
and searched the premises for an hour, and Johnson responded, “[I]f that’s the case,
then you have your witnesse[s] together when you come [to] court, [and] the judge
will dismiss it because . . . it was wrong.” One of the officers had just photographed
the back of the house and another picture of the front when Johnson began yelling,
“This s--t’s not going to fly.” The officer told him to calm down, be quiet, and let him
finish documenting the scene, after which he would let Johnson talk to his son.
The officer testified that he explained to Johnson that because he did not live
there, he did not have a right to be present and therefore needed to step over to
another property, but Johnson refused to leave. According to the officer, Johnson’s
continued “hollering and cussing . . . got everybody else yelling and screaming” a
couple of houses down. He testified that he was concerned for his and other officer’s
safety and could not simply ignore Johnson, because “when I’m trying to take
pictures and someone standing behind me hollering and cussing I don’t know what
they’re fixing - - and I’ve got a gun on my side, I’ve got to deal with him. I can’t take
3 a chance of them grabbing my gun and I don’t know what they’re going to do in that
state of mind.” The officer testified that he asked Johnson “a minimum of three times”
to calm down and let him do his job before arresting him for obstruction. Finally, the
officer stated that Johnson’s conduct prevented him from continuing to photograph
the scene and going inside to collect evidence; it also caused another officer to stop
his activities inside the house and come outside to assist.
Johnson was charged by accusation with the misdemeanor offense of
obstruction of an officer,
for that [he] . . . did knowingly and willfully obstruct and hinder . . . a law enforcement officer with the Polk County Police Department in the lawful discharge of his official duties, by screaming, cursing, and hindering said officer from performing his search and gathering evidence while [executing] a search warrant, in violation of OCGA § 16- 10-24 (a).
OCGA § 16-10-24 (a) provides in pertinent part: “[A] person who knowingly and
willfully obstructs or hinders any law enforcement officer in the lawful discharge of
his official duties is guilty of a misdemeanor.”
1. Johnson contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his
conviction because the State failed to prove that his “speech rose to the level of
obstruction as defined by law.” The evidence established that he never physically
4 obstructed the officer, and therefore, he argues, the issue is whether his words
themselves could reasonably be considered obstruction. We disagree.
(a) Citing Woodward v. Gray, 241 Ga. App. 847, 849 (a) (527 SE2d 595)
(2000), and Ballew v. State, 245 Ga. App. 842, 843 (1) (538 SE2d 902) (2000),
Johnson asserts that speech alone cannot constitute obstruction unless its content
could reasonably be interpreted to constitute a threat of violence to the officer,
because “a mere verbal exchange with an officer” unaccompanied by threats of
violence is not obstruction.
But Ballew, Woodward, and numerous other cases holding that the State must
present evidence of a threat of violence to sustain a conviction for obstruction of an
officer relied on definitions of obstruction that arose out of “an older version of
OCGA § 16-10-24, under which force or violence was considered an essential
element of the misdemeanor offense of obstruction. [Cits.]” Stryker v. State, 297 Ga.
App. 493, 494 (677 SE2d 680) (2009). The statute was revised in 1986 to define and
separate felony obstruction, which requires threats of violence or forcible resistance,
from misdemeanor obstruction, which does not. Under the current version of OCGA
§ 16-10-24 (a), a person commits the offense of misdemeanor obstruction when he
“knowingly and willfully obstructs or hinders any law enforcement officer in the
5 lawful discharge of his official duties.” This court explicitly disapproved of both
Woodward and Ballew to the extent that they implied that misdemeanor obstruction
requires proof of “forcible resistance” or “threat of violence.” Stryker, 297 Ga. App
at 495, n.1. See also Duke v. State, 205 Ga. App. 689, 689-690 (423 SE2d 427)
(1992); Arsenault v. State, 257 Ga. App. 456, 457 (1) (a) (571 SE2d 456) (2002);
Wilcox v. State, 300 Ga. App. 35, 37-38 (2) (684 SE2d 108) (2009). 1
Speech alone can constitute obstruction. For example, we have affirmed
obstruction convictions when the defendant (1) advised a companion to remove a car
from the scene of an arrest after the arresting officer told him not to, Stryker, supra,
297 Ga. App. at 495;
(2) remonstrated so loudly that she interfered with an officer’s interview of individuals who had reported a crime, despite the officer’s instruction that she leave the scene, Carter v. State, 222 Ga. App. 397, 397-398 (1) (474 SE2d 228) (1996); (3) deliberately misled the officer about his identity, Wilson v. State, 261 Ga. App. 576, 578 (2) (583 SE2d 243) (2003); [and] Herren v. State, 201 Ga. App. 509, 510 (1) (411 SE2d 552) (1991); (4) wilfully lied about the whereabouts of the subject of a
1 To the extent that Whaley v. State, 175 Ga. App. 493, 494 (333 SE2d 691) (1985); Dumas v. State, 159 Ga. App. 517, 518-519 (284 SE2d 33) (1981); and Wells v. State, 154 Ga. App. 246, 247-248 (268 SE2d 74) (1980), hold that speech must contain a threat of violence to constitute obstruction, those holdings were superseded by the 1986 amendment.
6 bench warrant an officer was attempting to serve, Hudson [v. State,] 135 Ga. App. [739,] 742-743 (3) [(218 SE2d 905) (1975)]; (5) wilfully lied to an officer, who was trying to execute an arrest warrant, about the present location of the arrestee, Duke v. State, 205 Ga. App. 689 (423 SE2d 427) (1992); and (6) deliberately misled the first responding officer about his role in a car wreck, Wells v. State, 297 Ga. App. 153, 154 (1) (676 SE2d 821) (2009).
Harris v. State, 314 Ga. App. 816, 820-821 (1) (726 SE2d 455) (2012).
(b) A rational trier of fact could have concluded from the evidence presented
by the State that Johnson knowingly and willingly hindered the officer in the lawful
discharge of his official duties. See Mayhew v. State, 299 Ga. App. 313, 316-317 (1)
(b) (682 SE2d 594) (2009) (sufficient evidence of misdemeanor obstruction where
defendant repeatedly refused to obey officer’s instructions to calm down and step
away while officer was interviewing person at whom defendant was screaming and
cursing); Harris v. State, 276 Ga. App. 234, 236 (1) (622 SE2d 905) (2005)
(defendant’s conduct in refusing to obey officer’s “lawful commands to wait and back
off” sufficient to support misdemeanor obstruction conviction); Cooper v. State, 270
Ga. App. 346, 347 (606 SE2d 869) (2004) (defendant’s conduct during execution of
search warrant sufficient to support misdemeanor obstruction where defendant’s
yelling and confrontational demeanor in combination with refusal to sit down and
7 remain in one place forced officers to call for back-up out of fear that defendant’s
conduct would escalate; evidence sufficient even though pre-1986 obstruction
elements erroneously applied), overruled by Stryker, supra, 279 Ga. App. at 495 n.
1; Carter, supra, 222 Ga. App. at 397-398 (1) (defendant’s disruptive statements and
conduct in refusing to leave home that was not her residence during police
investigation sufficient to support misdemeanor obstruction conviction).2
2. In his remaining enumeration of error, Johnson contends that the trial court
erred by refusing to give seven jury charges “all of which addressed the issues of free
speech and the limited circumstance under which speech alone can be considered
obstruction.” This contention has no merit.
“A requested charge must be legal, apt, and precisely adjusted to some
principle involved in the case and be authorized by the evidence. If any portion of the
request to charge fails in these requirements, denial of the request is proper.”
(Citation and punctuation omitted.) Grant v. State, 295 Ga. 126, 131 (5) (b) (757
SE2d 831) (2014). “There is no error in refusing to give a requested charge where the
2 Our opinion in Harris, supra, 314 Ga. App. at 819-822 (1), does not require a different result, because in this case, unlike Harris, the State presented evidence of “something more” than mere argument and expressions of frustration toward a police officer. Specifically, Johnson ignored three requests to calm down and refused to leave the property when asked to do so.
8 applicable principles are fairly given to the jury in the general charge of the court.”
(Citations and punctuation omitted.) Riley v. State, 268 Ga. 640, 643 (5) (491 SE2d
802) (1997).
Johnson relied upon cases that have been overruled or disapproved subsequent
to the 1986 amendment to OCGA § 16-10-24 to support five of his requested charges
(Charges Two through Six). Johnson’s remaining requests to charge were either
adequately covered by the general charge of the court on obstruction or not precisely
adjusted to the evidence. As noted above, the State presented evidence of “something
more” than mere argument and disagreement with the police officer to support
Johnson’s conviction. The trial court therefore did not err by refusing to give these
charges.
Judgment affirmed. Ellington, P. J., Doyle, P. J., Dillard and Branch, JJ.
concur. Barnes, P. J., and Miller, J. dissent.
9 A14A1302. JOHNSON v. THE STATE.
BARNES, Presiding Judge, dissenting.
With this opinion, the majority has given law enforcement officers total
discretion to establish the guilt of anyone publicly voicing complaints about their
actions. All an officer needs to do is testify that he “had to” stop whatever he was
doing and turn his attention to the complainer, thus demonstrating the necessary
element of obstructing or hindering a law enforcement officer in the lawful discharge
of his official duties. In my view, this interpretation of the obstruction statute is
overbroad and unconstitutional, and I respectfully dissent.
“Although we have held that words alone can constitute obstruction, we have
found no case upholding an obstruction conviction based solely upon a defendant's
act of speaking to, remonstrating with, or even criticizing an officer during the
performance of his duties.” Harris v. State, 314 Ga. App. 816, 820-821 (1) (726 SE2d
455) (2012). The officer in this case chose to stop what he was doing to confront
Johnson and tell him to be quiet, and when he would not do so, the officer arrested
him. But the officers on the scene created the very circumstances about which
Johnson was complaining, and to prosecute him for refusing to be quiet about it is the
very essence of a First Amendment violation. “A search warrant commands the search and gives the executing officer the
authority to conduct such. OCGA § 17-5-23. The warrant delineates the scope of the
search and directs the execution within such boundaries. OCGA § 17-5-24.” State v.
Rocco, 255 Ga. App. 565 (1) (566 SE2d 365) (2002). Absent appropriate exigent
circumstances, evidence seized from premises without a proper warrant may be
inadmissible at trial. Teal v. State, 282 Ga. 319, 326 (2) (647 SE2d 15) (2007).
So whether the police are executing a search pursuant to a valid warrant or not
is important information, because absent exigent circumstances, officers searching
a house without a valid warrant are trespassers conducting an illegal search. Teal, 282
Ga. at 326 (2); Shafer v. State, 193 Ga. 748, 755 (2) (20 SE2d 34) (1942). “An officer
undertaking to execute a search warrant should have the warrant in his possession or
so immediately at hand that it may be exhibited as authority for making the search,”
and a warrant is not in the officer’s possession when it is “some distance from the
scene of the arrest.” Shafer, 193 Ga. at 755; see also State v. Rocco, 255 Ga. App. at
565.
The officers executing the search about which Johnson was loudly protesting
did not have a warrant in their possession when they kicked in the door, and
Johnson’s outrage was understandable. The evidence is undisputed that the officers
2 picked up Johnson’s son during a traffic stop, went to the son’s house, broke into the
house without a warrant in hand, and began searching the premises. When the son’s
mother returned home and asked to see their warrant, they told her they would show
it to her when they were done and then ignored her and continued their search for an
hour before one of them finally left the scene and returned with a warrant. A cousin
stood outside with the mother, loudly objecting to the apparently warrantless forced
entry and search, when Johnson arrived on the scene. As far as he or any other
civilian there knew, the officers had arrested Johnson’s son and broken into the house
illegally.
The arresting officer testified that he did not shoot his final picture of the house
and go inside to continue taking photographs because Johnson was standing there
“hollering and cussing” and the officer did not know “what [Johnson] was going to
do.” But the officer conceded that Johnson did not physically try to stop him from
taking photographs or block his view, and that he could have taken his last picture
and walked into the front door to finish documenting the scene. Moreover, while the
officer said that Johnson’s “hollering and screaming got everybody else yelling and
screaming,” the only other people mentioned besides his son’s mother and cousin
were a couple of people in another duplex who were getting “a little anxious and
3 wanted to get a little mouthy as well” but had not come to the scene. Mere argument
or expressions of frustration toward a police officer, without “something more,” is not
enough to sustain a conviction for misdemeanor obstruction. Harris, 314 Ga. App.
at 821. Here, absent “something more,” the evidence is insufficient as a matter of law
to constitute obstruction.
The majority concedes that the only acts that could possibly constitute
“something more” that just speech were Johnson’s failure to calm down when asked
to do so and his refusal to leave the property. In other words, he did not shut up and
leave. But it was the officer’s choice to stop what he was doing and remonstrate with
Johnson. And when the officer ordered Johnson to be quiet and go away or he would
be arrested, Johnson’s response was to turn around, put his hands together, and tell
the officer to go ahead and jail him but that would not change the illegality of the
search. That is hardly an act of obstruction. It is an act of protest.
For these reasons, I respectfully dissent to the majority opinion. I am
authorized to state that Judge Miller joined in this dissent.