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Postell v. State

412 S.E.2d 831, 261 Ga. 842, 35 Fulton County D. Rep. 22, 1992 Ga. LEXIS 74
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedFebruary 6, 1992
DocketS91G1369
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 412 S.E.2d 831 (Postell 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
Postell v. State, 412 S.E.2d 831, 261 Ga. 842, 35 Fulton County D. Rep. 22, 1992 Ga. LEXIS 74 (Ga. 1992).

Opinions

Hunt, Justice.

In Postell v. State, 200 Ga. App. 208 (407 SE2d 412) (1991) the Court of Appeals affirmed the defendant’s convictions for rape and robbery by intimidation. We granted the defendant’s application for certiorari to determine whether the trial court should have charged the jury on circumstantial evidence, as the defendant requested, and whether the trial court properly excluded evidence regarding a prior claim of rape by the victim.

1. In Robinson v. State, 261 Ga. 698 (410 SE2d 116) (1991) we held that “where the state’s case depends, in whole or in part, on circumstantial evidence, a charge on the law of circumstantial evidence [843]*843must be given on request.” Here, as in Robinson, the state’s case depended in part on circumstantial evidence. Accordingly, the trial court erred by failing to give the defendant’s request to charge on circumstantial evidence.

Decided February 6, 1992. Perry, Walters & Lippitt, Jesse W. Walters, for appellant. Britt R. Priddy, District Attorney, for appellee.

2. The trial court did not err by excluding evidence regarding the victim’s claim that she was raped previously by another man. There is no evidence that the victim accused any individual in connection with this claim. Therefore, the rule in Smith v. State, 259 Ga. 135, 137 (377 SE2d 158) (1989), authorizing evidence of prior false accusations of rape in a rape trial, does not apply, and the evidence was not otherwise admissible.

3. Having reviewed the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s determination, we conclude that a rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty of rape and robbery by intimidation beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979); Crawford v. State, 245 Ga. 89, 90 (263 SE2d 131) (1980).

Judgment reversed.

Clarke, C. J., Bell, Benham and Fletcher, JJ., concur; Weltner, P. J., dissents.

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Postell v. State
412 S.E.2d 831 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1992)

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Bluebook (online)
412 S.E.2d 831, 261 Ga. 842, 35 Fulton County D. Rep. 22, 1992 Ga. LEXIS 74, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/postell-v-state-ga-1992.