Pauldo v. State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Pauldo’s malice-murder conviction, rejecting four ineffective-assistance claims concerning preparation of an accident defense, evidence about the gun’s recall and registration, and communication of a plea offer. The court held that Pauldo failed to establish prejudice from the alleged failures involving a firearms expert, gun-registration evidence, or the plea offer, and that counsel’s handling of the recall evidence was a reasonable strategic decision. The court also rejected Pauldo’s cumulative-prejudice argument because he did not develop it. All Justices concurred.