Woodson v. State
Woodson v. State
Concurring Opinion
concurring specially.
I concur in the result reached by the majority, and I agree that
Opinion of the Court
A jury found Willie Woodson guilty of burglary, battery, kidnapping, aggravated assault with the intent to rape, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. After considering Woodson’s five prior out-of-state felony convictions, the court imposed maximum consecutive sentences for the current felony convictions and twelve more months for the battery conviction.
Woodson appeals, contending that the trial court erred by failing to grant his motion for directed verdict of acquittal, failing to define fully the rape charge by omitting the portion dealing with consent, failing to merge his aggravated assault with a deadly weapon convic
1. Woodson challenges the trial court’s denial of his motion for a directed verdict of acquittal. The standard for reviewing a denial of a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal is whether, under the rule of Jackson v. Virginia,
Construed to uphold the jury’s verdict, the evidence reveals that on the evening of March 17, 1998, Woodson approached the victim as she sat on her porch. She noticed Woodson’s scar under his right eye and his black suede shoes. Woodson wrote a note to the victim, who is hearing impaired, requesting cigarettes and permission to perform oral sex upon her. The victim responded no, and Woodson left. But that evening at approximately 9:00 p.m. Woodson returned to the victim’s residence and knocked heavily on a door that had no peephole. The victim felt the vibrations from Woodson’s pounding and opened the door. Woodson was wearing a black stocking-type mask that covered all his face except his eyes. The victim again noticed Woodson’s scar and the same black shoes.
Woodson pointed a knife at the victim, forced himself inside, and locked the door. He pursued the victim through the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom, then into a bedroom, where he slapped the left side of her face and shoved and pulled her to the floor. Woodson placed the knife nearby on the floor as he used one hand to hold the victim to the floor against her will and his other hand to remove the victim’s shorts. When the victim attempted to gain control of the knife, Woodson forced her to release it by biting her right hand. Picking up the knife, he forced sexual intercourse upon her over her objections. Immediately afterwards, Woodson fled the scene, and the victim ran next door for help.
Responding police officers and detectives found the victim cry
The investigator collected a sticky thick fluid from the bedroom floor where the sexual intercourse occurred. He also recovered from the victim’s parking area a black stocking-type mask and removed hair samples from it. The State’s hair and fiber analysis expert examined the hair samples and concluded that they matched hair samples combed from Woodson’s head. At trial, the victim again identified Woodson as the perpetrator.
An appellate court does not weigh the evidence or determine witness credibility but only determines whether the evidence is sufficient under the standard of Jackson v. Virginia.
2. Woodson’s argument that the court erroneously refused to fully define the rape charge by omitting the portion dealing with consent is without merit. A trial judge does not err in refusing to give a requested charge that, among other things, is not adequately adjusted to the case or authorized by the evidence.
3. Woodson contends that the trial court erred by imposing separate sentences for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and
4. During the sentencing hearing, the State introduced certified copies of Woodson’s five prior Alabama felony convictions, consisting of (1) a 1982 burglary conviction, (2) a 1984 burglary conviction, (3) a 1984 escape conviction, (4) a 1984 receiving stolen property conviction, and (5) a 1992 burglary conviction. Under the recidivist statute,
The statute imposes maximum sentences for any person convicted of a felony who was previously “convicted under the laws of any other state . . . of a crime which if committed within this state would be a felony. . . .”
Judgment of conviction and misdemeanor sentence affirmed. Felony sentences vacated and case remanded for resentencing.
443 U. S. 307 (99 SC 2781, 61 LE2d 560) (1979).
Redd v. State, 232 Ga. App. 666 (1) (502 SE2d 467) (1998).
Patterson v. State, 225 Ga. App. 515 (484 SE2d 317) (1997).
Id.
Supra, 443 U. S. 307; Patterson, supra, 225 Ga. App. at 515.
See Harshaw v. State, 222 Ga. App. 385, 386 (1) (474 SE2d 226) (1996); Love v. State, 190 Ga. App. 264-265 (1) (378 SE2d 893) (1989).
Hill v. State, 259 Ga. 557, 558 (3) (b) (385 SE2d 404) (1989) (a request to charge the jury must be legal, apt and precisely adjusted to some principle involved in the case and be authorized by the evidence).
See Taylor v. State, 202 Ga. App. 671, 672 (415 SE2d 483) (1992); Sylvester v. State, 168 Ga. App. 718 (2) (310 SE2d 284) (1983); Coaxum v. State, 146 Ga. App. 370, 371 (3) (246 SE2d 403) (1978).
OCGA § 17-10-7 (c).
OCGA § 17-10-7 (a).
OCGA § 17-10-7 (c).
Wallace v. State, 175 Ga. App. 685, 687 (6) (333 SE2d 874) (1985).
Williams v. State, 235 Ga. App. 876, 877 (510 SE2d 848) (1999); see Wallace, supra, 175 Ga. App. at 687 (6); Miller v. State, 231 Ga. App. 869, 871 (2) (501 SE2d 42) (1998).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Woodson v. the State
- Cited By
- 26 cases
- Status
- Published