Middlebrooks v. Georgia
Annotate this CaseAfter Marina Middlebrooks pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges arising from the stabbing death of her daughter, Sky Allen, a jury found Middlebrooks guilty of murder and cruelty to children in the first degree. On appeal, Middlebrooks contended that the trial court erred in allowing the State’s expert witness to testify as to what happens when a person is found not guilty by reason of insanity. In addition, Middlebrooks contended “[t]he trial court erred in restricting the testimony of [her] diagnosing psychiatrist,” an employee of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (“VA”), “without following the correct procedure” under federal regulations concerning the testimony of VA personnel in legal proceedings. In a related claim, Middlebrooks contended her “trial counsel was ineffective in failing to object to the limitation of [the witness’s] testimony by the [f]ederal [g]overnment and the [p]rosecutor.” Finding no reversible error, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed.
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