Virger v. the State. Cave v. the State.

Summary

The court affirmed Virger's and Cave's convictions, holding that the evidence was legally sufficient to support the challenged murder, child-cruelty, and aggravated-sexual-battery convictions. It also upheld the joint trial, the rulings concerning jury selection and courtroom separation, the evidentiary rulings, the exclusion of Cave's battered-person-syndrome and PTSD testimony, and the denial of a continuance. The court rejected the use of diminished-capacity evidence to negate criminal intent or support coercion outside the defenses authorized by Georgia law and expressly disapproved contrary precedent.