Supreme Court of Georgia
Eller v. the State.
March 5, 2018811 S.E.2d 299
Summary
The court affirmed the convictions of both defendants, concluding that sufficient evidence supported Murphy's felony-murder and aggravated-assault convictions and independently finding sufficient evidence supporting Eller's convictions. Although the trial court erred by allowing alternate jurors to remain in the jury room during deliberations, the error was harmless because affidavits showed that the alternates neither participated nor influenced the verdict, and counsel also waived the issue. The court rejected all asserted ineffective-assistance claims because counsel's performance was reasonable or no prejudice was shown.