McNORRILL v. THE STATE , 338 Ga. App. 466 ( 2016 )


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  •                               SECOND DIVISION
    BARNES, P. J.,
    BOGGS and RICKMAN, JJ.
    NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be
    physically received in our clerk’s office within ten
    days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed.
    http://www.gaappeals.us/rules
    August 3, 2016
    In the Court of Appeals of Georgia
    A16A1016. MCNORRILL v. THE STATE.
    BARNES, Presiding Judge.
    A Richmond County jury found Todderius McNorrill guilty of hijacking a
    motor vehicle, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of a
    firearm during the commission of a crime. On appeal from the denial of his motion
    for new trial, McNorrill challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his
    convictions. McNorrill further contends that he was deprived of his constitutional
    right to effective counsel because his trial counsel had an actual conflict of interest
    and failed to object to certain jury instructions. For the reasons discussed below, we
    affirm.
    “Following a criminal conviction, the defendant is no longer presumed
    innocent, and we view the evidence in the light most favorable to sustain the verdict.”
    Anthony v. State, 
    317 Ga. App. 807
    (732 SE2d 845) (2012). The evidence in the
    present case, viewed in favor of the verdict, was recently summarized by this Court
    in Whaley v. State, __ Ga. App. __ (785 SE2d 685) (2016), the appeal of McNorrill’s
    co-defendant, Meguel Whaley:
    [A]round 10:30 p.m. on July 5, 2010, the victim received a call
    from his friend Chris asking if the victim wanted to hang out. The victim
    did not know Chris very well,1 but agreed to pick him up at a gas station.
    After meeting up with Chris, the victim drove them around until Chris
    asked to stop at someone’s house for a few minutes. The victim drove
    Chris to the house, and Chris went inside while the victim remained in
    his car. After Chris returned to the car, they continued to ride around
    until Chris received a call on his cell phone. The victim pulled his car
    into another gas station and let Chris out of the car so that he could talk
    on the phone privately. After talking on his phone, Chris got back into
    the car and asked the victim to drive to a nearby elementary school so
    that they could meet up with two men whom Chris identified as his
    cousin and his friend.
    After Chris directed the victim to the elementary school, the
    victim drove into a lot on the side of the school to wait for Chris’ cousin
    and friend to approach the car. Once the victim had driven into the lot,
    however, Chris asked the victim to turn off his car and walk with him
    behind the school to meet up with his cousin and friend there. Although
    he “felt kind of suspicious” at that point, the victim agreed to walk with
    Chris behind the school. Upon walking behind the school, the victim
    saw two men, later identified as . . . [co-defendant] Whaley and . . .
    1
    The victim did not know Chris’ last name or where he lived.
    2
    McNorrill, sitting on some steps. Chris approached Whaley and
    McNorrill, gave them a high-five, and spoke with them privately for a
    few minutes while the victim stood nearby.
    The victim thought they were going to walk back to his car, but
    Whaley suddenly approached the victim and pointed a handgun at him.
    Whaley said, “You know what time it is,” which the victim understood
    to mean that he was being robbed. Whaley held the gun to the victim’s
    head as he went through the victim’s pockets with his other hand. Chris
    began protesting, but Whaley told McNorrill to “shut him up,” and
    McNorrill pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Chris. The victim later
    told the police that one of the guns was a .22 caliber weapon and the
    other was a .380 caliber black and silver weapon.
    Whaley told the victim to lie down on the ground and asked
    McNorrill for a roll of duct tape. After the victim lay on the ground,
    Whaley got the duct tape from McNorrill and wrapped it around the
    victim’s eyes, mouth, and hands. Whaley placed his gun against the
    victim’s head and again went through the victim’s pockets, taking $125
    in cash, a cell phone, the victim’s keys, and his driver’s license. Whaley
    warned the victim that he and McNorrill had the victim’s identification
    and would kill the victim if he called the police. Before running from the
    scene, Whaley and McNorrill kicked the victim in the legs, ribs, and
    head.
    The victim was able to free himself from the duct tape in time to
    see Whaley and McNorrill get inside his car and drive away from the
    3
    school.2 The victim then walked to a gas station a few minutes away and
    used the phone to call the police. A sheriff’s deputy arrived at the gas
    station shortly thereafter, and the victim told the deputy about what had
    happened, described the two suspects, and provided a description of his
    stolen car. The deputy radioed the information to his dispatcher, and
    other deputies in the area were told to be on the lookout for the victim’s
    car.
    A few minutes later, another deputy saw the victim’s car stopped
    at a red light at an intersection, confirmed that it matched the description
    of the stolen vehicle, and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. When the
    deputy activated the emergency lights on his marked patrol car, the
    driver of the victim’s car ignored the lights and drove away, resulting in
    a police chase.
    A deputy in a second marked patrol car activated his emergency
    lights and took over the chase. As the chase continued, Whaley jumped
    out of the driver’s side door while the victim’s car was still moving and
    ran towards the woods. McNorrill remained in the front passenger seat
    after Whaley jumped out, and the victim’s car crashed through a fence
    and came to a stop against a tree. Deputies pursued Whaley on foot and
    gave several verbal commands for him to stop, but he continued running
    from them. One of the deputies caught up with Whaley and was able to
    apprehend him. . . .
    2
    Chris apparently ran off separately, but the record is unclear on this point.
    4
    Another deputy approached the crashed car and arrested
    McNorrill, who was still in the passenger seat. The deputy searched
    McNorrill and discovered twelve .22 caliber bullets in his pocket. The
    victim subsequently was driven to the scene where the car chase had
    concluded, and he confirmed that Whaley and McNorrill were the
    perpetrators in a show-up identification.
    Deputies searched the victim’s car that had been taken by Whaley
    and McNorrill. Marijuana weighing a total of 4.5 grams was in plain
    view on the passenger seat and on the driver’s side floorboard. From the
    way the marijuana was packaged, it appeared to be for distribution. The
    victim later testified at trial that the marijuana did not belong to him.
    Additionally, deputies found a loaded Hi-Point .380 caliber handgun on
    the driver’s seat, and the victim testified that it was the gun that Whaley
    had pointed at him.
    Deputies also searched behind the elementary school, where they
    found an empty roll of duct tape and a baseball cap that belonged to the
    victim. However, the victim’s cell phone, cash, and other personal items
    were never found.
    Whaley and McNorrill were jointly charged with hijacking a
    motor vehicle, armed robbery, false imprisonment, possession of
    marijuana with intent to distribute, and two counts of possession of a
    firearm during the commission of a crime. . . . Whaley and McNorrill
    subsequently were tried together. The victim and responding deputies
    testified to the events as summarized above, and the State introduced
    5
    and showed to the jury a video recording of the police car chase and
    photographs of the items seized at the elementary school and from the
    victim’s car. Whaley and McNorrill elected not to testify and did not
    present any defense witnesses.
    After reviewing all the evidence, the jury found both Whaley and
    McNorrill guilty of hijacking a motor vehicle, possession of marijuana
    with intent to distribute, and one count of possession of a firearm during
    the commission of a crime. . . . The jury acquitted Whaley and McNorrill
    of armed robbery, false imprisonment, and one count of possession of
    a firearm during the commission of a crime. . . .
    McNorrill filed a motion for new trial, as amended, in which he challenged the
    sufficiency of the evidence and contended that his trial counsel rendered ineffective
    assistance. After conducting an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied the motion.
    This appeal followed.
    1. McNorrill contends that there was insufficient evidence to support his
    conviction of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.3 While he concedes
    3
    In his enumerations of error, McNorrill also contends that the evidence was
    insufficient to convict him of hijacking a motor vehicle. However, in the argument
    section of his brief, McNorrill provides no argument or citations of authority
    addressing the sufficiency of the evidence as to the motor vehicle hijacking offense.
    McNorrill thus has abandoned any challenge he may have had to his motor vehicle
    hijacking conviction on the asserted ground. See Court of Appeals Rule 25 (a) (3),
    (c) (2); Jones v. State, 
    289 Ga. App. 219
    , 221 (1), n.1 (656 SE2d 556) (2008).
    6
    that there was evidence that he possessed the marijuana found in the victim’s stolen
    car, McNorrill maintains that there was insufficient evidence showing that he acted
    with the intent to distribute the marijuana. We disagree.
    To prove possession with intent to distribute, the State must show
    more than mere possession of a controlled substance. No bright line rule
    exists regarding the amount or type of evidence sufficient to support a
    conviction for possession with intent to distribute, and whether the State
    has proven an intent to distribute is peculiarly a question of fact for
    determination by the jury. Furthermore, in addressing the sufficiency of
    the evidence, we are always mindful that it is not our role to weigh the
    evidence or determine the credibility of witnesses; instead, under the
    standard enunciated in Jackson v. Virginia, 
    443 U.S. 307
    , 319 (III) (B)
    (99 SCt 2781, 61 LEd2d 560 (1979), we only determine whether a
    rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty of the
    charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt.
    (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Flemister v. State, 
    317 Ga. App. 749
    , 752 (1),
    (732 SE2d 810) (2012). Additionally, where, as in the present case, the conviction at
    issue is based solely on circumstantial evidence, “the proved facts shall not only be
    consistent with the hypothesis of guilt, but shall exclude every other reasonable
    Nevertheless, we have reviewed the trial record and conclude that there was sufficient
    evidence for a rational trier of fact to find McNorrill guilty beyond a reasonable doubt
    of hijacking a motor vehicle.
    7
    hypothesis save that of the guilt of the accused,” and whether that State has met this
    burden is normally a question for the jury. (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Noble
    v. State, 
    225 Ga. App. 470
    , 471 (484 SE2d 78) (1997).
    Here, the marijuana found in the car was packaged in nine individual baggies,
    with eight of the baggies contained in a larger plastic bag on the driver’s side
    floorboard and the ninth baggie on the passenger seat. The sheriff’s investigator
    testified that, based on his training and experience, the marijuana was packaged in a
    manner commonly used for distribution.4 The evidence that the marijuana was
    “packaged in a manner commonly associated with the sale or distribution of such
    contraband would authorize any rational trier of fact to infer that [McNorrill]
    possessed marijuana, a controlled substance, with intent to distribute.” (Citations and
    punctuation omitted.) 
    Flemister, 317 Ga. App. at 752
    (1). See Williams v. State, 
    303 Ga. App. 222
    , 224-225 (2) (692 SE2d 820) (2010); Mayo v. State, 
    277 Ga. App. 282
    ,
    4
    While McNorrill argues that the State failed to qualify the sheriff’s
    investigator as an expert, McNorrill failed to object on that ground at trial and
    therefore has waived any objection to the investigator rendering an opinion regarding
    the marijuana packaging. See Boring v. State, 
    303 Ga. App. 576
    , 579 (1) (694 SE2d
    157) (2010). Furthermore, the State laid a foundation for the investigator’s opinion
    testimony by eliciting testimony about his “couple hundred” encounters with
    marijuana and its different forms of packaging during the course of his career.
    8
    283 (1) (a) (626 SE2d 245) (2006); Rutledge v. State, 
    224 Ga. App. 666
    , 668 (1) (482
    SE2d 403) (1997); Bowers v. State, 
    195 Ga. App. 522
    , 522 (1) (394 SE2d 141)
    (1990).
    Moreover, in addition to the packaging of the marijuana, the evidence shows
    that a loaded handgun was found on the driver’s seat, bullets were found in
    McNorrill’s pocket, and the victim testified that McNorrill had a handgun that night.
    This evidence further supported McNorrill’s conviction for possession of marijuana
    with intent to distribute. See State v. Jackson, 
    287 Ga. 646
    , 652 (2) (697 SE2d 757)
    (2010) (pointing out that it is “not unusual” for drug dealers to be armed); Smith v.
    State, 
    335 Ga. App. 742
    , 744 (2) (782 SE2d 824) (2016) (noting that a “loaded
    handgun with a bullet in the chamber was found in the front passenger seat” in
    affirming conviction for possession of drugs with intent to distribute). Conversely,
    there was no evidence that McNorrill or his co-defendant were drugs users or were
    under the influence of drugs, and no evidence of any smoking devices, rolling papers,
    or other paraphernalia associated with drug use found in the car. Accordingly, under
    the totality of the evidence, a rational jury could reject the alternative hypothesis that
    the marijuana was for personal use rather than distribution. See Jackson v. State, 
    314 Ga. App. 272
    , 276 (1) (c) (724 SE2d 9) (2012).
    9
    Two cases relied upon by McNorrill, Hicks v. State, 
    293 Ga. App. 830
    (668
    SE2d 474) (2008); and Clark v. State, 
    245 Ga. App. 267
    (537 SE2d 742) (2000), do
    not require a different result. In Hicks, we concluded that the evidence presented at
    trial supported the reasonable alternative hypothesis that the drugs found in the
    defendant’s car were for personal use rather than distribution, where the only
    evidence of intent to distribute was that the defendant possessed a pill bottle
    containing an unidentified number of broken-up pieces of cocaine, and an
    investigator testified that storing drugs in such a disposable container indicated an
    intent to 
    sell. 293 Ga. App. at 831-833
    . We specifically noted, however, that there
    was no evidence of weapons or of “drug packaging materials such as baggies in the
    vehicle.” 
    Id. at 832.
    Hicks thus is materially distinguishable in light of the loaded
    handgun and individualized packaging of the marijuana found in the car here.
    Clark is likewise distinguishable. In Clark, we concluded that the evidence was
    insufficient to prove that the drugs were for distribution rather than personal use,
    where the police discovered eight bags of an unidentified amount of marijuana in a
    van with four people inside of it parked behind a restaurant in the middle of the 
    night. 245 Ga. App. at 267-269
    . The passengers in the van were sitting on or next to several
    of the bags. 
    Id. at 268.
    The police also found a cigar on the dashboard of the van that
    10
    had been cut open with the tobacco removed, which a police officer testified was
    “consistent with people getting ready to replace the tobacco with marijuana, [to] make
    a joint.” 
    Id. at 267.
    Given the number of people in the van where the marijuana was
    found, the unidentified amount of marijuana, the absence of any guns or “drug
    packaging materials,” and the presence of the cigar made into a drug smoking device,
    Clark clearly diverges factually from the situation here. 
    Id. at 269.
    As we have emphasized, “the intent with which an act is done is peculiarly a
    question of fact for determination by the jury. Intent, which is a mental attitude, is
    commonly detectible only inferentially, and the law accommodates this.” (Citation
    and punctuation omitted.) 
    Mayo, 277 Ga. App. at 283
    (1) (a). Given the combined
    evidence in this case, we conclude that the State met its burden of proving that
    McNorrill intended to distribute the drugs, and the jury was authorized to find
    McNorrill guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of possession of marijuana with intent
    to distribute. 
    Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319
    (III) (B).5
    5
    McNorrill also argues that because the evidence was insufficient to convict
    him of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, the evidence likewise was
    insufficient to convict him of possession of a firearm during the commission of that
    drug-related crime. McNorrill’s argument is without merit, in light of our conclusion
    that there was sufficient evidence to convict him of possession of marijuana with
    intent to distribute.
    11
    2. McNorrill next contends that he was denied his constitutional right to
    effective counsel because his trial counsel had an actual conflict of interest that
    adversely affected the representation. According to McNorrill, an actual conflict of
    interest arose because his trial attorney was employed in the same circuit public
    defender’s office as the attorney who represented his co-defendant, and he and his co-
    defendant had antagonistic interests that precluded them from being represented by
    attorneys in the same office. We are unpersuaded.
    As our Supreme Court has pointed out, “[t]he potential for serious conflicts of
    interest [exists] when one lawyer represents co-defendants in a criminal proceeding.”
    Tolbert v. State, 
    298 Ga. 147
    , 148 (2) (a) (780 SE2d 298) (2015), citing In re Formal
    Advisory Opinion 10-1, 
    293 Ga. 397
    , 400 (2) (744 SE2d 798) (2013). And
    if it is determined that a single public defender in the circuit public
    defender’s office of a particular judicial circuit has an impermissible
    conflict of interest concerning the representation of co-defendants, then
    that conflict of interest is imputed to all of the public defenders working
    in the circuit public defender office of that particular judicial circuit.
    In re Formal Advisory Opinion 
    10-1, 293 Ga. at 399
    (1). See Pryor v. State, 333 Ga.
    App. 408, 410 (2) (776 SE2d 474) (2015).
    12
    But “the mere ‘possibility of conflict is insufficient to impugn a criminal
    conviction.’” Lytle v. State, 
    290 Ga. 177
    , 178 (2) (718 SE2d 296) (2011), quoting
    Cuyler v. Sullivan, 
    446 U.S. 335
    , 350 (IV) (C) (100 SCt 1708, 64 LE2d 333) (1980).
    Rather, “[t]o prevail on a claim that a conflict of interest worked a denial of the
    effective assistance of counsel, a defendant like [McNorrill] – one who failed to
    object to the conflict at trial – must show that ‘an actual conflict of interest adversely
    affected his lawyer’s performance.’” (Footnote omitted.) 
    Tolbert, 298 Ga. at 149
    (2),
    quoting 
    Cuyler, 446 U.S. at 348
    (IV) (B). See State v. Abernathy, 
    289 Ga. 603
    , 604
    (1) (715 SE2d 48) (2011); 
    Pryor, 333 Ga. App. at 412-413
    (2).
    [T]he critical question is whether the conflict significantly affected the
    representation, not whether it affected the outcome of the underlying
    proceedings. That is precisely the difference between ineffective
    assistance of counsel claims generally, where prejudice must be shown,
    and ineffective assistance of counsel claims involving actual conflicts
    of interest, which require only a showing of a significant effect on the
    representation.
    (Citation omitted; emphasis in original.) 
    Abernathy, 289 Ga. at 604-605
    (1). Thus,
    McNorrill had to show that the simultaneous representation of himself and his co-
    defendant by two lawyers working in the same public defender’s office created a
    13
    conflict of interest that significantly affected his own lawyer’s performance. See id.;
    
    Pryor, 333 Ga. App. at 412-413
    (2).
    In reviewing whether McNorrill proved that his trial counsel was laboring
    under a conflict of interest that adversely affected his counsel’s performance, we owe
    no deference to the trial court’s application of the law to the facts. 
    Tolbert, 298 Ga. at 151
    (2) (a). “We owe substantial deference, however, to the way in which the trial
    court assessed the credibility of witnesses and found the relevant facts.” 
    Id. Mindful of
    this standard of review, we turn to the record in this case.
    While McNorrill and his co-defendant were represented by attorneys in the
    same trial team at the same circuit public defender’s office, there was no evidence of
    any communications or corroboration between the attorneys regarding this case.
    Rather, McNorrill’s trial counsel testified at the hearing on the motion for new trial
    that she recalled no such communications or corroboration with the other attorney in
    her office. Furthermore, trial counsel testified that she felt no constraints in her
    representation of McNorrill and did not feel that there was any conflict that inhibited
    her trial performance, and there is nothing in the trial transcript reflecting otherwise.
    Trial counsel also testified that if a conflict had existed, she would have reviewed the
    issue with her supervisor, but there had been no need to do so under the
    14
    circumstances here. Given this record, the trial court was entitled to find that
    McNorrill failed to show that his trial counsel was laboring under an actual conflict
    of interest that negatively impacted her pre-trial preparation or her performance
    during trial.
    McNorrill nevertheless argues that an actual conflict of interest arose at one
    point before trial when the prosecutor offered him a plea conditioned on McNorrill
    testifying against his co-defendant, thereby causing McNorrill and his co-defendant
    to have interests that were antagonistic to one another. However, McNorrill’s trial
    counsel testified at the new trial hearing that she fully informed McNorrill of the plea
    offer, that she told him that it was his decision whether to accept the offer, and that
    “it [had been] of no account to [her]” whether McNorrill chose to testify against his
    co-defendant. Trial counsel also testified that McNorrill was very “deferential” to his
    co-defendant and looked to his co-defendant “for cues . . . in making decisions about
    what he wanted to do.” The trial transcript reflects that when the plea offer was later
    brought up in open court, McNorrill rejected the offer, stating, “I would take the
    offer, but I don’t want to testify.” In light of this combined record evidence, the trial
    court was entitled to find that any potential conflict arising from the plea offer did not
    adversely affect the manner in which trial counsel handled the offer or conveyed it
    15
    to McNorrill, and that McNorrill made his own independent decision not to accept
    the offer because he did not want to testify at trial.
    In sum, as the trial court was authorized to conclude, McNorrill failed to
    establish that the simultaneous representation of himself and his co-defendant by two
    public defenders in the same office created an actual conflict of interest that
    significantly affected his own lawyer’s performance before or during trial. See
    
    Abernathy, 289 Ga. at 604-605
    (1); 
    Lytle, 290 Ga. at 178-179
    (2); Pryor, 333 Ga.
    App. at 413-414 (2); Johnson v. State, 
    320 Ga. App. 161
    , 165-166 (4) (739 SE2d 469)
    (2013). It follows that the trial court did not err when it denied McNorrill’s motion
    for new trial on this ground.
    3. McNorrill also contends that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to
    object to the trial court’s jury instruction on possession of marijuana with intent to
    distribute. We disagree.
    Count 5 of the indictment charged McNorrill with violating the Georgia
    Controlled Substances Act, OCGA § 16-13-30 (j), by possessing marijuana with the
    intent to distribute. In defining the alleged offense to the jury, the trial court
    instructed: “The offense charged in count 5 of this indictment is a violation of the
    Georgia Controlled Substances Act, which provides that it is unlawful for any person
    16
    to [a] possess, or have under one’s control or [b] possess with intent to distribute any
    quantity of marijuana, which is a controlled substance.” According to McNorrill, the
    trial court’s instruction was erroneous because it included a reference to simple
    possession of marijuana as a violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, and
    thus could have misled the jury into convicting him of a drug crime different from
    that charged in the indictment. Consequently, McNorrill contends that his trial
    counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the instruction.
    While instructing the jury that a crime can be committed in a
    manner different from that charged in the indictment can constitute
    reversible error, a reversal is not mandated where, as here, the charge as
    a whole limits the jury’s consideration to the specific manner of
    committing the crime alleged in the indictment.
    (Punctuation and footnote omitted.) Machado v. State, 
    300 Ga. App. 459
    , 462 (5)
    (685 SE2d 428) (2009). See Wheeler v. State, 
    327 Ga. App. 313
    , 319 (3) (758 SE2d
    840) (2014). Here, the trial court read the indictment to the jury, instructed the jury
    that the State had the burden of proving every material allegation of the indictment
    beyond a reasonable doubt, further instructed the jury that it could find McNorrill
    guilty if it found beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed the offenses “alleged
    in the indictment,” and provided the indictment to the jury during its deliberations.
    17
    These instructions, when considered as a whole, cured any potential error in the
    trial court’s instruction on count 5 of the indictment. See Dugger v. State, 
    297 Ga. 120
    , 123 (6) (772 SE2d 695) (2015); Faulks v. State, 
    296 Ga. 38
    , 39 (2) (764 SE2d
    846) (2014); 
    Wheeler, 327 Ga. App. at 319-320
    (3); 
    Machado, 300 Ga. App. at 462
    -
    463 (5). Under these circumstances, McNorrill cannot show that the jury instruction
    prejudiced his case, and thus cannot succeed on his ineffective assistance claim. See
    Gomillion v. State, 
    236 Ga. App. 14
    , 18 (3) (c) (512 SE2d 640) (1999) (“Failure to
    object to a court’s charge[] . . . is not ineffective assistance where the appellant does
    not show how this prejudiced his case.”) (citation and punctuation omitted).
    4. Lastly, McNorrill contends that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing
    to object to the trial court’s jury instruction on possession of a firearm during the
    commission of a crime. Again, we disagree.
    OCGA § 16-11-106 (b) (4) provides that a person commits a felony when he
    possesses a firearm on or within arm’s reach of his person during the commission of
    certain felony drug-related crimes. The trial court instructed the jury on the definition
    of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime:
    A person commits the offense of possession of a firearm during the
    commission of a crime when the person has on or within arm’s reach of
    18
    his person a firearm during the commission of or any attempt to commit
    a felony, which is . . . any crime involving the possession, or possession
    with intent to distribute a controlled substance. I charge you marijuana
    is a controlled substance.
    McNorrill argues that the trial court’s instruction, by including a reference to
    possession of marijuana as a potential predicate felony offense for the firearm crime,
    was an incorrect statement of the law under the facts of this case. He emphasizes that
    possession of marijuana is only a felony if the amount of marijuana possessed is
    greater than one ounce, OCGA § 16-13-2 (b), but the amount of marijuana found in
    the victim’s stolen vehicle was less than that amount. Consequently, McNorrill
    argues, his mere possession of marijuana in this case would not have supported a
    conviction of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and his trial
    counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the jury instruction on that basis.
    Even if McNorrill’s trial counsel was deficient for failing to object to the jury
    instruction, McNorrill has failed to show how that error was prejudicial. The jury
    found McNorrill guilty of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, there was
    sufficient evidence to support that felony conviction as 
    explained supra
    in Division
    1, and it is undisputed that possession of marijuana with intent to distribute could
    serve as the predicate felony offense for McNorrill’s conviction of possession of a
    19
    firearm during the commission of a crime under OCGA § 16-11-106 (b) (4). Hence,
    “there is not a reasonable probability that, if the trial court had omitted the [reference
    to simple possession of marijuana from the instruction] at [McNorrill’s] behest, the
    outcome of the trial would have been more favorable to him.” Daughtry v. State, 
    296 Ga. 849
    , 859 (2) (g) (770 SE2d 862) (2015). McNorrill therefore cannot succeed on
    his ineffective assistance claim. 
    Id. Judgment affirmed.
    Boggs, J. concurs. Rickman, J., concurs in judgment only.
    20
    

Document Info

Docket Number: A16A1016

Citation Numbers: 338 Ga. App. 466, 789 S.E.2d 823

Judges: Barnes, Boggs, Rickman

Filed Date: 8/3/2016

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 11/8/2024