Patterson v. Georgia
Annotate this CaseRicky Patterson lived in a mobile home with his girlfriend, Wanda Bartley. While her adult son, Nathaniel Silvers, was present, Patterson and Bartley argued, and Bartley and Silvers urged Patterson to leave the home. When Patterson, Bartley, and Silvers were outside the home, Patterson went to his vehicle, put it into gear, revved the engine, and rapidly drove directly toward the end of the home, near Silvers, who became pinned against the side of the home by the vehicle; Silvers suffered internal injuries. The Georgia Supreme Court granted certiorari to the Court of Appeals to answer two questions: (1) whether that the Court of Appeals erred in concluding that the crime of simple assault as set forth in OCGA § 16-5-20 (a) (2) did not require that the defendant have the specific intent to cause the alleged victim of the assault to suffer injury or the apprehension of injury; and (2) if the Court of Appeals did so err, whether it further erred in concluding that the trial court properly refused to instruct the jury on the crimes of reckless conduct and reckless driving as lesser included offenses of aggravated assault. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed.
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