We are happy to congratulate Mr. Horsley on another successful representation of a client at the Georgia Court of Appeals. In Grissom v. State, Case No. A09A1503, the Court of Appeals agreed with Mr. Horsley that it is “fundamentally unfair to simultaneously afford a suspect a constitutional right to silence following arrest and yet allow the implications of that silence to be used against him….” The Court also clarified that allowing the State to repeatedly question the defendant about his silence and to emphasize the point in closing argument was an “error of constitutional dimension.” In granting the defendant a new trial, the Court of Appeals concluded that, “[u]nder the circumstances of the case…, it would be naive to suggest that the evidence concerning defendant’s silence did not weaken defendant’s position in the minds of the jurors….”
At Kimmey & Associates we understand all too well that prosecutors and even trial judges make mistakes. We hope that this decision will help protect the constitutional rights of all Georgia citizens.
