Hartley v. State
Hartley v. State
Opinion of the Court
This appeal is from appellant’s conviction of burglary. He complains of the State’s use of evidence of a previous burglary for which he was tried and acquitted, and of prosecutorial misconduct. Wei agree that the introduction of evidence concerning the burglary of which appellant was acquitted was error, and reverse.
1. At the trial of the burglary of which appellant was acquitted, he did not deny his presence at the burglary, but swore that he was not aware that a burglary was going to happen until the others entered the burgled premises. It was thus his state of mind or intent which was litigated and resolved in his favor at that trial. The stated reason for offering evidence of that burglary at the trial of this case was to show appellant’s “motive, plan, scheme, bent of mind,” etc. Those are the equivalent of intent, exactly the issue resolved in appellant’s favor in the first trial. The trial court erred, therefore, in permitting evidence of the burglary of which appellant was acquitted. Salcedo v. State, 258 Ga. 870 (376 SE2d 360) (1989).
2. Appellant’s second enumeration of error concerns the tria court’s denial of appellant’s motion to dismiss on the ground oil prosecutorial misconduct. The motion was based on the conduct ol the assistant district attorney who handled the trial of this case ancl of the case in which appellant was acquitted. Specifically, appellanl complains that the assistant district attorney, after appellant’s acl
Judgment reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.