Bates v. State

In the Supreme Court of Georgia Decided: December 14, 2021 S21A1188. BATES v. THE STATE. LAGRUA, Justice. Appellant Larry Bates was convicted of malice murder and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of his neighbor, Paul Wilson, and Wilson’s dog. On appeal, Appellant raises four enumerations of error alleging ineffective assistance of counsel: (1) trial counsel pursued meritless defenses; (2) trial counsel failed to file the necessary pre-trial notice to pursue a mental illness defense; (3) trial counsel failed to properly subpoena an expert witness; and (4) trial counsel…