Court Opinion

ID: 9588838
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 23:39:11.905172+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:01:00.373323
License: Public Domain

*896Evans, Judge,
concurring specially with results of the dissent.
Harold Dickerson was placed on probation on September 27, 1972 for a period of 10 years, by the superior court of Alcovy Circuit. Thereafter defendant was charged with two later offenses alleged to have been committed on December 4, 1974, and he demanded in writing a jury trial on January 17, 1975. The state brought a motion to revoke his probation, and the trial judge ignored defendant’s written motion for trial by jury as to said alleged later offenses, and revoked the probation on March 12, 1975.
Thus, the trial judge revoked his probation after hearing evidence, and ignored defendant’s written motion for trial by jury. The trial judge had the discretion (provided he had the right to conduct the hearing on motion for revocation of probation) to enter an order of revocation on slight evidence against the defendant, and he had a wide discretion in considering the evidence of whether defendant was guilty or innocent of the last two alleged offenses. Code Ann. §§ 27-2502, 27-2713; Johnson v. State, 214 Ga. 818, 819 (108 SE2d 313). On the other hand, if defendant had been granted his written demand for trial by a jury, the jury would have been much more limited by rules, the presumption of innocence would have been in defendant’s favor, and the jury would have had to find that he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, before convicting him.
The question for decision here is whether a trial judge may ignore a probationary defendant’s demand in writing for trial by jury, and conduct a hearing himself on whether or not to revoke defendant’s probated sentence. The difference between the two is as stated above; the trial judge has a wide discretion and no presumption of innocence exists in favor of defendant, and it is not required that his guilt be shown beyond all reasonable doubt before deciding that he is guilty of the two latter offenses. But the jury would have had to accord the defendant all of these rights. Needless to say, if the jury had decided that defendant was not guilty of the two latter offenses, the trial judge could not have then conducted a hearing and revoked the probated sentence.
*897It has been held that a defendant is not entitled as a matter of right to a jury trial on whether his probation should terminate. But here the sole reasons assigned for revocation is that defendant had committed two criminal offenses, and as to which he made a demand in writing for trial by jury. If he were tried by jury and acquitted, surely this would terminate the matter and render moot the hearing by the trial judge on the question of revocation. See Code § 110-501. A defendant has the right to plead autrefois acquit. Jones v. State, 226 Ga. 747 (1) (177 SE2d 231). On the other hand, if a jury trial were not accorded the defendant in accordance with his written demand, at the second term of the court thereafter the charges against him must be dismissed. Code Ann. §§ 27-1901, 27-1901.1.
But the majority and minority opinions discuss the overruling of earlier decisions which they consider binding unless overruled. But Justice Hill has solved this problem in the case of Hall v. Hopper, 234 Ga. 625 (216 SE2d 839), to wit: "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.” P. 631.
In other words, you need not hereafter overrule any case but it may simply be disregarded when it gets in the way of justice in the case under consideration.