LEE v. THE STATE
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In Georgia, Edward Lee was convicted of malice murder and other crimes related to a series of offenses committed between December 15, 2011, and January 19, 2012. On appeal, Lee argued that the trial court erred in denying his motions for a mistrial based on the grounds that his co-indictee mentioned Lee’s prior imprisonment during his testimony and that the State violated Brady v. Maryland by failing to disclose evidence about a fourth man involved in one of the crimes. Lee also claimed his trial counsel was ineffective for not objecting to the prosecutor's comments on the veracity of witnesses and arguments about facts not in evidence during closing arguments.
The Supreme Court of Georgia held that Lee waived his right to appeal the denial of his mistrial motions because he failed to make the motions contemporaneously when the issues arose during the trial. The court also rejected Lee's ineffective assistance of counsel claim, ruling that the prosecutor's comments were permissible as they were based on reasonable inferences from the evidence and not statements about the prosecutor’s personal beliefs. The court also stated that the decision not to object to a part of a prosecutor's closing argument is a tactical one and that failure to object must be patently unreasonable to be deemed deficient. The court affirmed the lower court's decision, thereby upholding Lee's conviction.
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