Johnson v. State

Because the evidence on Johnson’s conviction for possession of cocaine is overwhelming and independent of the victim’s testimony, I must concur with affirming Johnson’s conviction for possession of cocaine and the rulings on errors associated with it. I cannot agree, however, that depriving Johnson of his right to make opening and closing argument granted by OCGA § 17-8-71 was mere harmless error. Thus, I must respectfully dissent from Division 1.

This is a classic case of a trial court refusing to allow a defendant to present his legitimate defense as he had planned, depriving him of what…