Case Name: WATSON v. THE STATE
Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Decision Date: 2015-12-09
Citations: 335 Ga. App. 227
Docket Number: A14A0742
Parties: WATSON v. THE STATE.
Judges: Andrews, P. J., and Ray, J., concur.
Reporter: Georgia Appeals Reports
Volume: 335
Pages: 227–228

Head Matter:
A14A0742.
WATSON v. THE STATE.
(780 SE2d 822)

Opinion:
McFADDEN, Judge.
Patrick Watson was convicted on two counts of sexual battery against his minor daughter and one count of child molestation against another victim. In our opinion in Watson v. State, 329 Ga. App. 334 (765 SE2d 24) (2014), we affirmed his convictions. In so doing, in Division 3 (b) of our opinion we rejected Watson's argument that the trial court erred in instructing the jury that "under Georgia law a person under the age of sixteen lacks legal capacity to consent to sexual conduct." Id. at 338-340 (3) (b). In Watson v. State, 297 Ga. 718 (777 SE2d 677) (2015), the Supreme Court of Georgia reversed the judgment below on the sexual battery convictions, "holding] that this particular instruction is improper when given in relation to the offense of sexual battery." Id. at 718. The Supreme Court noted that Watson's conviction on child molestation was not at issue on certior-ari and did not address any of the other grounds upon which Watson had challenged his convictions.
We therefore vacate Division 3 (b) of our opinion in Watson v. State, supra, 329 Ga. App. 334, which addressed the propriety of the jury instruction described above, and in place of Division 3 (b) we adopt as our own the Supreme Court's opinion in Watson v. State, supra, 297 Ga. 718. Because the Supreme Court neither addressed nor considered the other portions of our earlier opinion, and those other portions are not inconsistent with the Supreme Court's own opinion, those other portions "become binding upon the return of the remittitur." Shadix v. Carroll County, 274 Ga. 560, 563 (1) (554 SE2d 465) (2001).
Decided December 9, 2015.
Ross & Pines, Noah H. Pines, for appellant.
Jacquelyn L. Johnson, District Attorney, Andrew J. Ekonomou, Katie M. Gropper, Assistant District Attorneys, for appellee.
Accordingly, the conviction for child molestation is affirmed and the convictions for sexual battery are reversed.
Judgment affirmed in part and reversed in part.
Andrews, P. J., and Ray, J., concur.