Rouse v. State

Reading the majority opinion, one might think that in reversing Rouse’s murder and robbery convictions, the Court today is simply applying our precedents under OCGA § 17-8-57, and in particular the two recent cases where the Court reversed convictions based on the trial court’s improper comment on proof of venue, Patel v. State, 282 Ga. 412, 413 (651 SE2d 55) (2007), and State v. Anderson, 287 Ga. 159, 160 (695 SE2d 26) (2010). This is not so. In fact, the majority’s decision extends well beyond Patel, Anderson, and 150 years of other cases interpreting OCGA § 17-8-57 and its predecessor…