Rogers v. State

Hunstein, Justice.

Appellant James Rogers challenges the trial court’s order finding that he waived his request for a jury trial on the issue of mental retardation pursuant to Fleming v. Zant, 259 Ga. 687 (386 SE2d 339) (1989). Because we hold that a defendant who was tried for a capital crime prior to July 1, 1988 cannot waive his request for a hearing to determine whether he is mentally retarded once a court finds sufficient credible evidence of mental retardation to create an issue for a jury, we reverse and remand to the trial court.

1. Rogers was convicted and sentenced to death for the…