McKelvin v. State

823 S.E.2d 729, 305 Ga. 39
Supreme Court of Georgia·Decided February 4, 2019·No. S18A1031·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

Benham, Justice.

*730**39Appellant Joshua McKelvin was convicted of murdering Marilyn Patterson and assaulting Myra Youngblood, Belinda Hines, and Zeddie Holley. On appeal, Appellant contends that the trial court erred by concluding that the defense of involuntary intoxication necessitated pretrial notice to the State; by requiring him to provide the State with a copy of his pretrial mental evaluation; by refusing to excuse a juror and declare a mistrial; by admitting certain rap lyrics into evidence; and by denying a mistrial after, he says, evidence placed his character at issue.1 Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

In June 2013, Appellant and Patterson were staying together in a room at the Ashburn Inn in Turner County, Georgia, and found work at a nearby watermelon farm. On the day in question, Appellant became frustrated with the pace of work on his watermelon-packing line and hit Youngblood with a watermelon; a verbal altercation ensued between Appellant and Youngblood's fiancé, but it was settled without escalation. Later that evening at the motel - where other workers from the watermelon farm were also staying - Appellant tried to reignite the feud, but he was ignored. That same night, Patterson announced that she was checking out of the motel, taking the refund from her pre-payment of the room, and heading home.

In preparation for leaving, Patterson returned to her room, and, shortly thereafter, called the front desk asking for help; the clerk then heard at least three gunshots and gasps from Patterson. Holley, who was also staying at the motel and was acquainted with Appellant, heard the gunshots and observed Appellant leave Patterson's motel room with something silver in his hand; Appellant then aimed the firearm at Holley and fired three times. Appellant then shot both Youngblood and another co-worker, Hines, before fleeing the scene. Appellant later contacted law enforcement to turn himself in and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Numerous witnesses identified **40Appellant as the shooter. At trial, Appellant admitted that he was the shooter, but claimed that he had no recollection of the events after having had two sips of an odd-tasting beer.

1. Though not raised by Appellant as error, in accordance with this Court's standard practice in appeals of murder cases, we have reviewed the record and find that the evidence, as stated above, was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to find Appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes for which he was convicted. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).

2. In July 2013, the defense moved the trial court for a psychiatric evaluation to explore Appellant's fitness to stand trial, as well as to *731assess his mental condition at the time of the crime; this motion was served on the State. The order granting the motion - which was drafted by the defense - was also provided to the State, and the order dictated that the State was to receive a copy of the evaluation. During the subsequent evaluation, Appellant reported that, on the evening in question, he had been given a beer with an "odd" taste to it and that he had an "incomplete memory" of subsequent events. The evaluating psychologist opined in his report that Appellant was competent to stand trial, that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that Appellant could not appreciate right from wrong at the time of the shootings, that Appellant's actions were not the product of a delusional compulsion, and that there was no apparent evidence of involuntary intoxication or misapprehension of fact. Despite the trial court's original order, the psychologist's report was apparently filed under seal and provided to defense counsel, but it was not immediately provided to the State.

Months later, the defense produced a witness list that included medical personnel who had treated Appellant on the night in question. The State - apparently concerned with a possible insanity defense - moved the trial court to compel Appellant to turn over the report and provide written notice of "any mental defect or condition that would bear upon his competency to stand trial or his lack of criminal responsibility for his actions." Following an ex parte hearing with the defense - during which the defense affirmed its intention to pursue the theory of involuntary intoxication - the trial court granted the State's motion, concluding that, under Uniform Superior Court Rule 31.5, the defense was required to give notice of its intent to pursue involuntary intoxication and turn over the report. Following the trial court's ruling, the defense retained an expert witness, who testified at trial in support of Appellant's theory of involuntary intoxication.

**41On appeal, Appellant contends that it was error to require him to give notice of his defense and turn over the psychologist's report to the State.

(a) Appellant first contends that the trial court erred in concluding that, under Rule 31.5, the defense was required to provide written, pre-trial notice of its intent to pursue a theory of involuntary intoxication. We disagree.

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McKelvin v. State, 823 S.E.2d 729, 305 Ga. 39 (Ga. 2019).

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