State v. Cohen

807 S.E.2d 861, 302 Ga. 616
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedNovember 2, 2017
DocketS17A1265
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 807 S.E.2d 861 (State v. Cohen) 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
State v. Cohen, 807 S.E.2d 861, 302 Ga. 616 (Ga. 2017).

Opinions

MELTON, Presiding Justice.

According to the briefs, Mye Brindle worked as a housekeeper and personal assistant to Joe Rogers, who was married. During her employment with Rogers, the two became involved sexually.1 In June 2012, Brindle hired attorneys David Cohen and John Butters to represent her on a potential claim of sexual harassment. On June 20, 2012, without Rogers’ knowledge or consent to be video recorded, Brindle allegedly used a “spy” camera to secretly record video of Rogers naked in his bathroom and bedroom, as well as video of a sexual encounter between Rogers and herself inside his bedroom. The video recording was delivered to attorney Cohen, and Brindle resigned from her position with Rogers. On or about July 16, 2012, Rogers received a demand letter from attorney Cohen relating to the potential sexual harassment claim that he and Butters were prepared to file on Brindle’s behalf.2

After extensive civil litigation between Rogers and Brindle that is not relevant to the current appeal, on June 17, 2016, Brindle and her attorneys (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “defendants”) were charged in the Superior Court of Fulton County with conspiracy to commit extortion under OCGA § 16-8-16 (Count 1), conspiracy to commit unlawful surveillance (Count 2), and conducting unlawful surveillance under OCGA § 16-11-62 (Count 3). Brindle was also charged individually with one additional count of conducting unlawful surveillance under OCGA § 16-11-62 (Count 4).3 The indictment was largely based on the defendants’ prior actions involving an alleged conspiracy to secretly video record and then actually record Rogers in the bathroom and bedroom of his home on June 20, 2012, and then sending Rogers the July 16, 2012 litigation demand letter. Through multiple motions filed on September 19, 2016 and October 19, 2016, the defendants filed a general demurrer to dismiss the indictment against them and to have OCGA §§ 16-8-16 (a) (3),4 [617]*61716-11-62 (2),5 and 16-11-66 (a)6 declared unconstitutional. Following a hearing, on November 30, 2016, the trial court issued an order granting the defendants’ general demurrer to the indictment. After finding that the indictment failed to allege that the defendants had committed any crimes under the relevant statutes, the trial court went on to conclude that OCGA § 16-8-16 (a) (3) was unconstitutionally over-broad on its face, and further declared that OCGA §§ 16-11-62 (2) and 16-11-66 (a) were unconstitutionally vague because “persons of ordinary intelligence [could not] be expected to determine what is permitted and prohibited by these [two] statutes.” Accordingly, the trial court dismissed all counts of the indictment against all of the defendants.

The State appeals from this ruling, and, for the reasons that follow, we conclude that (1) while the trial court properly dismissed Count 1 of the indictment, the trial court erred by reaching the constitutional issue relating to OCGA § 16-8-16 (a) (3) in support of this result; and (2) the trial court erred in dismissing Counts 2, 3, and 4 of the indictment and in concluding that OCGA §§ 16-11-62 (2) and 16-11-66 (a) are unconstitutionally vague. We therefore affirm the portion of the trial court’s order dismissing Count 1 of the indictment, vacate the portion of the trial court order’s finding OCGA § 16-8-16 (a) (3) to be unconstitutionally overbroad on its face, and reverse the portion of the trial court’s order dismissing Counts 2-4 of the indictment.

1. The State contends that the trial court erred in granting the defendants’ general demurrer to Count 1 of the indictment. We disagree.

“A general demurrer challenges the sufficiency of the substance of the indictment, whereas a special demurrer challenges the sufficiency of the form of the indictment. [Cits.]” Bramblett v. State, 239 Ga. 336, 337 (1) (236 SE2d 580) (1977).

The true test of the sufficiency of an indictment that will withstand a general demurrer is as follows: If all the facts which the indictment charges can be admitted [as true], and still the accused be innocent, the indictment is bad; but if, [618]*618taking the facts alleged as premises, the guilt of the accused follows as a legal conclusion, the indictment is good.

(Citations and punctuation omitted.) Lowe v. State, 276 Ga. 538, 539 (2) (579 SE2d 728) (2003). We “review[ ] a trial court’s ruling on a general . . . demurrer de novo in order to determine whether the allegations in the indictment are legally sufficient.” (Punctuation and footnote omitted.) Smith v. State, 340 Ga. App. 457, 459 (797 SE2d 679) (2017).

Count 1 of the indictment states that the defendants were being charged

with the offense of CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT A FELONY O.C.G.A. § 16-4-8,[7] for the said accused, in the County of Fulton and State of Georgia, on the 6th day of June, 2012, did unlawfully, together, conspire to commit the crime of EXTORTION O.C.G.A. §16-8-16, and at least one of those persons did an overt act to effect the object of said conspiracy, to wit:
OVERT ACTS
1.
On or about the 3rd day of June, 2012, JOHN BUTTERS, an attorney authorized to practice law in Georgia, contacted Thomas Hawkins, a private investigator, to arrange a meeting to discuss making a covert video recording of a wealthy individual without that person’s knowledge or consent.
2.
On or about the 4th day of June, 2012, attorneys JOHN BUTTERS and DAVID COHEN met with private investigators Michael Deegan and Thomas Hawkins at the offices of Hawk Private Investigations (“Hawk PI.”) in Fulton County to discuss making a covert video recording of a wealthy person inside his residence without that person’s knowledge or consent. BUTTERS and COHEN did not reveal the name of the wealthy person.
[619]*6193.

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Bluebook (online)
807 S.E.2d 861, 302 Ga. 616, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cohen-ga-2017.