Champ v. Georgia
Annotate this CaseAppellant Dekito Champ was convicted of malice murder and a firearm offense in connection with the shooting death of his former girlfriend, Jana Watson. Appellant’s sole claim on appeal was that the trial court erred by violating his Georgia constitutional right to be present at numerous bench conferences that occurred during jury selection. After review of the trial court record, the Georgia Supreme Court concluded the evidence presented at Appellant’s trial was sufficient to support his convictions, so that part of the trial court’s judgment was affirmed. However, because Appellant’s right-to-be-present claim was raised for the first time on appeal, there was no opportunity for the State to develop the record, and there were no findings or rulings by the trial court as to that claim, particularly as to whether Appellant acquiesced to his absences from the bench conferences. The Supreme Court therefore vacated the trial court’s judgment in part and remanded the case for the trial court to hold a hearing and rule in the first instance on Appellant’s constitutional claim.
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