From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Welbon v. State

Supreme Court of Georgia
Sep 13, 2004
278 Ga. 312 (Ga. 2004)

Summary

holding no deficient performance where trial counsel's strategy "was reasonable under the circumstances"

Summary of this case from Harris v. State

Opinion

S04A0882.

DECIDED SEPTEMBER 13, 2004.

Murder. Clarke Superior Court. Before Judge Gaines, Senior Judge.

Vicki E. Carter, for appellant.

Kenneth W. Mauldin, District Attorney, Christopher T. Anderson, Assistant District Attorney, Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General, Frank M. Gaither, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.


Wayne Terry Welbon appeals from his convictions for malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Finding no error, we affirm.

The crimes occurred on September 29, 2001. On October 31, 2001, Welbon was indicted for malice murder, felony murder, and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. On September 19, 2002, an Athens-Clarke County jury convicted Welbon on all counts. He was sentenced to life in prison for malice murder and to a consecutive five year term for one of the possession counts. The felony murder count stood vacated by operation of law, and the second possession count merged into the first. Welbon filed a timely motion for new trial on October 8, 2002. New counsel amended the motion on October 28, 2003, and a hearing on the motion was held the same day. The trial court denied the motion on December 23, 2003, and Welbon filed his timely notice of appeal on January 22, 2004. This case was docketed in this Court on February 2, 2004, and submitted on the briefs on March 29, 2004.

1. The evidence presented at trial showed that Welbon and Judy Ann Harris had an on-again off-again romantic relationship. On September 29, 2001, after Welbon helped Harris fix a window in her house, Harris began to drive Welbon home. They got into a heated argument on the drive, and Welbon shot Harris four to six times in the head and upper body. Welbon admits to killing Harris, but claims that he did so in self-defense because Harris was reaching for a gun in her purse, which was on the floorboard behind his seat.

After reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury's determination of guilt, we conclude that a rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Welbon was guilty of the crimes for which he was convicted. Accordingly, Welbon's challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence is without merit.

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).

2. Welbon contends that his trial counsel was deficient for failing to call a defense expert who was prepared to testify that Welbon suffered from Battered Person's Syndrome, and that this failure undermined his self-defense argument.

To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, Welbon bears the burden of showing both that trial counsel was deficient and that he was prejudiced by the deficiency. There is a strong presumption that trial counsel provided effective representation, and we will not find ineffectiveness if trial counsel's strategy and trial tactics were reasonable at the time.

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687-688 (104 SC 2052, 80 LE2d 674) (1984).

Smith v. Gaither, 274 Ga. 39, 40 ( 549 SE2d 351) (2001).

Braithwaite v. State, 275 Ga. 884, 886 ( 572 SE2d 612) (2002).

At the motion for new trial hearing, trial counsel testified that he decided against calling the expert after the State failed to present evidence of prior difficulties between Welbon and Harris. The State's witnesses were expected to testify that Welbon, not Harris, was the aggressor in the relationship, and trial counsel was surprised that the State chose not to present this evidence. Trial counsel testified that he made a strategic decision not to call the expert for fear of opening the door to this evidence and allowing the State to call its witnesses in rebuttal, thereby giving them the "last word" on the subject. Trial counsel's strategy was reasonable under the circumstances, and we will not use hindsight to second-guess that strategy on appeal.

Id.

3. Welbon also contends that the trial court's jury instruction on the use of excessive force was improper. This Court has held that the given charge, which comes from the Suggested Pattern Jury Instructions, is a correct statement of the law, and it was proper in light of the entire justification charge given.

The jury instruction read:

I charge you [that] the use of excessive force or unlawful force while acting in self-defense is not justifiable, and the defendant's conduct in this case would not be justified if you find that the force used exceeded that which the defendant reasonably believed was necessary to defend against the victim's use of unlawful force, if any.

Salyers v. State, 276 Ga. 568, 570 (4) ( 580 SE2d 240) (2003); Clark v. State, 271 Ga. 27, 29(2) ( 518 SE2d 117) (1999).

Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.


DECIDED SEPTEMBER 13, 2004.


Summaries of

Welbon v. State

Supreme Court of Georgia
Sep 13, 2004
278 Ga. 312 (Ga. 2004)

holding no deficient performance where trial counsel's strategy "was reasonable under the circumstances"

Summary of this case from Harris v. State

concluding under old Evidence Code that trial counsel's strategic decision "not to call [an expert in battered person syndrome] for fear of opening the door" to evidence that defendant was the aggressor in the relationship was reasonable

Summary of this case from Martin v. State

explaining that "[t]his Court has held that the [excessive force] charge, which comes from the Suggested Pattern Jury Instructions, is a correct statement of the law, and it was proper in light of the entire justification charge given," where defendant claimed that he shot the deceased four to six times in self-defense because she was reaching for a gun

Summary of this case from Gold v. The State
Case details for

Welbon v. State

Case Details

Full title:WELBON v. THE STATE

Court:Supreme Court of Georgia

Date published: Sep 13, 2004

Citations

278 Ga. 312 (Ga. 2004)
602 S.E.2d 610

Citing Cases

Ashmid v. State

Ross, 231 Ga.App. at 795(1), 499 S.E.2d 642.Id. (punctuation omitted); see also Welbon v. State, 278 Ga. 312,…

Defrancisco v. State

(Footnote omitted.) Welbon v. State, 278 Ga. 312, 313 (2) ( 602 SE2d 610) (2004). Prejudice is shown by…