Romer v. State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed Jehrod Romer's convictions for malice murder and firearm possession in the shooting death of 16-year-old Quantavia Hill, finding the trial evidence sufficient under the view-most-favorable-to-the-verdict standard notwithstanding conflicting testimony and the absence of any proven motive. It held that Romer lacked standing to invoke his brother Jamal's Fifth Amendment and Miranda-based rights to preclude cross-examination about Jamal's post-shooting refusal to give police a statement, and that his unpreserved evidentiary objection premised on the Mallory rule against comments on a defendant's silence was unreviewable — a rule the court expressly declined to extend beyond the trial defendant himself. The court also found no deficient performance in counsel's decisions not to impeach a State witness with her prior theft convictions and not to question two witnesses about pending or disposed-of charges, treating those choices as reasonable tactics rather than error.