State v. Brannan

Sears, Justice.

In this case, we rule that the trial court unnecessarily found OCGA § 16-6-23 (prohibiting the publication of a rape victim’s name or identity) to be unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article One of the Georgia Constitution, because appellant Mark Allan Brannan’s (“Brannan”) motion to dismiss the indictment against him could have been decided without reaching that constitutional question. Accordingly, we vacate the trial court’s order and remand with direction.

In December 1995, a woman was abducted at gunpoint from…