Van Alstine v. State

Hunstein, Justice.

James Earl Van Alstine’s conviction for felony murder was affirmed, Van Alstine v. State, 261 Ga. 819 (413 SE2d 735) (1992), but we remanded the case for a hearing on his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. Id. at 820 (2). The trial court conducted the hearing and denied his claim. Van Alstine appeals.

The evidence at trial established that an exchange of insults occurred after the car in which appellant was a passenger made minor contact with the victim’s vehicle on a city street. Both vehicles then proceeded slowly through rush hour traffic and merged onto an…