Court Opinion

ID: 9853998
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 05:58:59.819889+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:22:52.372775
License: Public Domain

Evans, Judge,
concurring specially.
I agree with the result reached by the majority in this case but not with all that is stated in the opinion.
1. First of all, the majority suggests that the following cases of the Court of Appeals should be overruled, to wit: Taylor v. State, 134 Ga. App. 79 (213 SE2d 137); and Cadle v. State, 136 Ga. App. 232 (221 SE2d 59). But this suggestion overlooks the case of Hall v. Hopper, 234 Ga. 625 (216 SE2d 839), a 4-3 decision by the Supreme Court of Georgia rendered on July 1, 1975, which holds (pp. 631, 632) as follows: "Stability and certainty in law are desirable; stare decisis is a valid and compelling basis of argument. Cobb v. State, 187 Ga. 448, 452 (200 SE 796). It is not possible, however, to achieve unanimity in every case which reaches this court. When a majority of this court determines that stability must give way to justice to the prisoner, then justice prevails. The 'full bench rule’ has been repealed.
"That repeal occurred some time ago. The effective date of repeal is immaterial.”
It should be unnecessary to spell out exactly the message the Supreme Court of Georgia is sending out here, but it simply means that hereafter it is not necessary to overrule any prior conflicting decision; that stare *769decisis is a matter for argument only, and is not controlling; that the oldest full-bench rule has been reversed, although it is not necessary to say when it was reversed; that none of these time-honored precedents will be allowed to stand in the way of justice; that stability must give way to justice, as a majority of this court (meaning at least four votes) determines what "justice” is in the particular case under consideration.
It would be interesting to know when the oldest full bench rule was repealed, and the volume and page number where it can be found. I apprehend it would be more than a little difficult to be more explicit in this regard. And when did a four-judge decision gain the authority to overrule a full-bench decision? This new and novel and awesome pronouncement leaves us all gasping for breath like the fish that temporarily escapes onto the shore from the net.
No matter how repugnant this case is to all that we ever learned in law, we have to swallow it and abide by it until the Supreme Court decides to come back to the old, tried, tested, and established landmarks of the law.
Therefore, henceforth, it is not necessary to overrule any prior conflicting case; but under the Hall case, supra, we may simply disregard all prior conflicting decisions in the interest of seeing that justice is done in the case immediately under consideration.
2. As to the merits of the case, we must consider the reality and actuality of the trial and the situation confronting the defendant when it came time for him to defend or give testimony. If his motion to suppress had been sustained — as he contends it should have been — there would have been no reason for his making an admission of possession of the illegal drug. But under the posture of the case when he took the witness stand, he was faced with the reality that the trial court had overruled his motion to suppress, and he then proceeded to attempt to justify himself in the possession of the drug. Surely any lawyer will realize that the case was not tried as it would have been had the trial judge sustained the motion to suppress.
3. Further, the United States Supreme Court has held that the reasoning set forth by the majority is correct *770in Fahy v. Connecticut, 375 U. S. 85 (84 SC 229,11 LE2d 171). Also see Harrison v. United States, 392 U. S. 219 (88 SC 2008, 20 LE2d 1047); McDaniel v. North Carolina, 392 U. S. 665 (88 SC 2310, 20 LE2d 1359). The Supreme Court of Georgia and the Court of Appeals of Georgia are bound by the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States as to federal constitutional issues and statutes, even though they may conflict with decisions of the Supreme Court of Georgia. See Thornton v. Lane, 11 Ga. 459, (4); Central of Ga. R. Co. v. Brotherhood of R. Trainmen, 211 Ga. 263 (1) (85 SE2d 413); Feldschneider v. State, 127 Ga. App. 745 (4) (195 SE2d 184); Dismuke v. State, 127 Ga. App. 835, 836 (195 SE2d 259); Traylor v. State, 127 Ga. App. 409, 410 (193 SE2d 876).