Sullivan v. State
Sullivan v. State
Opinion of the Court
Rommie Sullivan was convicted of selling cocaine. He appeals, challenging the sufficiency of thé evidence and the effectiveness of his trial counsel. The challenges are without merit, and we thus affirm his conviction.
1. On appeal from a criminal conviction, the reviewing court construes the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and no longer presumes that the appellant is innocent.
In the instant case, law enforcement officers testified that they conducted an undercover drug-buying operation, and that . Sullivan sold cocaine to an undercover officer. The transaction was videotaped, and that videotape depicting the officer buying cocaine from a man identified as Sullivan was played for the jury. The state also introduced Sullivan’s prior drug convictions as similar transaction evidence. And Sullivan admitted during his own trial testimony that he had sold cocaine, acknowledging that he was in fact the person caught on the videotape selling to the undercover officer. But, he claimed, he was working with the police and had made the sale as part of an attempt to catch another drug dealer.
The jurors were not bound to accept Sullivan’s claim that he worked for the police.
2. Sullivan complains that his attorney was ineffective because he did nothing to prepare for trial. The complaint is not supported by the record. The record reveals that before trial the attorney had access to the state’s file and fully reviewed it, he and Sullivan viewed the state’s videotape of the drug transaction together, he discussed the defense theory with Sullivan, he investigated Sullivan’s claim of working for the police, he discussed plea offers and possible sentences with Sullivan, he advised Sullivan of his various rights, he
Under these circumstances, Sullivan has not shown that his counsel did not adequately prepare for trial.
Judgment affirmed.
Mann v. State, 244 Ga. App. 756, 757 (1) (536 SE2d 608) (2000).
Jackson v. State, 239 Ga. App. 77, 80 (1) (519 SE2d 746) (1999).
See King v. State, 224 Ga. App. 400 (1) (480 SE2d 385) (1997).
See Hines v. State, 246 Ga. App. 835, 837-838 (4) (541 SE2d 410) (2000).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.