Timberlake V. State

Timberlake v. the State of Georgia, 246 Ga. 488, 271 S.E.2d 792 (1980), is a case in which the Georgia Supreme Court lists the requirements that a defendant must meet when making an extraordinary motion for new trial. The Georgia Supreme Court relied on its decision in ''Timberlake'' as precedent in support of its decision on March 17, 2008 not to order a new trial in the controversial case of Troy Anthony Davis.

Facts and procedural posture

The defendant in the ''Timberlake'' case was convicted by a jury of the murder of Herbert Bishop Edwards, which had taken place on September 20, 1979. Two eyewitnesses had identified Timberlake as the killer, and evidence had been introduced that Timberlake had made some phone calls in which he had asked to speak to somebody who knew an escaped prisoner who was later found with the murder weapon. His defense was that he was at a courthouse renewing a pistol license at the time that the murder had taken place.

After his conviction, Timberlake filed a motion to request a retrial. In 246 Ga. 488 (1980), the Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the decision of the lower court not to grant the defendant's motion for a new trial.

Significance

Holding

In ''Timberlake'', the Court reiterated its earlier holdings in a long line of cases in which it had defined six criteria that a defendant must meet when requesting a retrial based on the discovery of new evidence:

This list of six criteria has appeared, with almost identical wording, in a number of Georgia Supreme Court cases; ''see'', ''e''.''g''., ' Bell v. the State', 227 Ga. 800, 183 S.E.2d 357 (1971).

Application in the ''Davis'' case

In the case of ''Davis v. the State'', the defendant, who is under a sentence of death for a murder that he says that he did not commit,''See'' filed an extraordinary motion for a new trial. The Georgia Supreme Court, applying the standard set forth in the ''Timberlake'' case, affirmed the decision of the lower court to deny the defendant's motion without an evidentiary hearing. As a result, Davis' appeals are nearly exhausted, and he may be executed unless granted clemency by th
State Board of Pardons and Paroles

Sources

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See also

* Bell v. the State

Georgia (U.S. state) case law
U.S. state criminal procedure case law
1980 in United States case law
1980 in Georgia (U.S. state)
Murder in Georgia (U.S. state)