Valrie v. Georgia
Annotate this CaseReuben Valrie was tried by jury and convicted of murder and other crimes in connection with the death of his infant daughter Aliyana. Valrie appealed, claiming that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Aliyana died as a result of closed head trauma, with a blunt-force abdominal injury as a secondary cause of death, which investigators determined was consistent with being shaken or dropped. At trial, Valrie presented the testimony of four expert witnesses who testified that Aliyana died of natural causes and that the injuries to her brain and abdomen were caused by events such as post-mortem CPR and the “rough” handling of her body by first responders. The jury rejected this defense and found Valrie guilty of murder and the other charges. Valrie contended that his trial lawyer should have raised a hearsay objection to the admission of recorded statements that his girlfriend (and Aliyana's mother) made to police investigators (as well as the testimony of one of those investigators about some of those statements). Alternatively, Valrie argued that his lawyer should have sought the redaction of certain portions of the recorded statements that impugned his character. The Georgia Supreme Court concluded Valrie failed to present evidence that his trial counsel was deficient, or that he was prejudiced by any alleged failures. According, the Court affirmed conviction.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.