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State v. Clark

The State v. Clark

State v. Clark, 369 S.E.2d 900 (Ga. 1988)
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Court
Supreme Court of Georgia · State Highest Courts
Decided
July 6, 1988
Docket
No. 45628
Judges
Smith, Hunt
Citations
369 S.E.2d 900258 Ga. 4641988 Ga. LEXIS 309
Cited by 13

Opinion — Smith

Smith, Justice.

We granted the state’s petition for a writ of certiorari in Clark v. State, 186 Ga. App. 106 ( 366 SE2d 361 ) (1988). We affirm.

The appellee pled guilty to the charge of voluntary manslaughter and received a twenty year sentence. During the sentencing hearing, the trial court allowed the district attorney to ask the appellee’s character witness certain questions over the objection of appellee’s counsel. The Court of Appeals reversed and remanded for a new trial on the issue of punishment.

The purpose of this opinion is to delineate the boundaries that must be observed by district attorneys when cross-examining a defendant’s character witness. A district attorney must be able to show that the questions posed to the defendant’s character witness were asked in good faith and based on reliable information that can be supported by admissible evidence.

Judgment affirmed.

All the Justices concur, except Hunt, J., not participating.

*465 Decided July 6, 1988 Reconsideration denied July 29, 1988.

Spencer Lawton, Jr., District Attorney, David T. Lock, Assistant District Attorney, for appellant.

G. Terry Jackson, Michael G. Schiavone, for appellee.

How later courts describe this case

No later court has written an explanatory parenthetical about this case yet.

Cited by 13 cases

View all citing references →
1989: 11991: 41993: 21994: 11996: 22004: 12010: 12017: 119892026peak 1991 · 4

Relies on it most ⓘ

  1. Medlock v. State430 S.E.2d 754 (Ga. 1993)
  2. Butts v. State389 S.E.2d 395 (Ga. Ct. App. 1989)
  3. Christenson v. State402 S.E.2d 41 (Ga. 1991)
  4. Williams v. State411 S.E.2d 316 (Ga. Ct. App. 1991)
  5. Medlock v. State449 S.E.2d 596 (Ga. 1994)
  6. Strickland v. State479 S.E.2d 125 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996)

Most recent

  1. Cain v. State797 S.E.2d 466 (Ga. 2017)
  2. Tidwell v. State701 S.E.2d 920 (Ga. Ct. App. 2010)
  3. Watson v. State604 S.E.2d 804 (Ga. 2004)
  4. Strickland v. State479 S.E.2d 125 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996)
  5. Beck v. State473 S.E.2d 263 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996)
  6. Medlock v. State449 S.E.2d 596 (Ga. 1994)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 1

DepthCaseCited by
Clark v. State, 366 S.E.2d 361 (Ga. Ct. App. 1988) 27

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