Hicks v. State

Pope, Judge.

Defendant William Michael Hicks appeals from his conviction for child molestation. Defendant was first tried and convicted for molesting his stepdaughter in 1984. After an unsuccessful appeal to this court, defendant filed a habeas corpus petition with the Superior Court of Richmond County, Georgia, which was granted. Defendant was retried in May 1989 and convicted again.

Prior to the second trial, the trial court issued an order sua sponte on May 8, 1989, in which he held that “[d]ue to the nature of the threats and the known past mental history of the defendant, the court deems…