Ryan v. State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the murder convictions, holding that the trial counsel’s strategic choices – including not objecting to Hartfield’s Fifth Amendment invocation, not striking her testimony, not introducing Instagram messages, not objecting to certain prosecutor comments, and not pursuing an alibi – were not objectively unreasonable and did not prejudice the defendants. The Court rejected each ineffective‑assistance claim under the Strickland test.