Mathis v. State
Mathis v. State
Opinion of the Court
Brad C. Mathis was charged by accusation with one count of escape and found guilty by a jury. Mathis’s amended motion for new
At the hearing on the motion for new trial, the State acknowledged that it had not separately disclosed to Mathis a copy of his statement to prison officials as required by OCGA § 17-16-4 (a) (1). The State argued, however, that under OCGA § 17-16-6 the statement could only have been excluded “upon a showing of prejudice and bad faith,” which Mathis failed to make. We agree.
This appeal is controlled by Roberts v. State, 244 Ga. App. 330 (534 SE2d 526) (2000). As in Roberts, Mathis did not request a continuance, the State had an open file policy under which Mathis could have inspected the statement at any time, and the State did not introduce the statement until Mathis testified. Mathis “did not show he was prejudiced or the State acted in bad faith. Consequently, the trial court did not err, under OCGA § 17-16-6, in denying [his] motion to exclude” the statement. Id. at 333 (3).
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.