Georgia Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions, 2020 Edition

1.2 MB·

by  Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia

Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia
Suite 104, 18 Capitol Square, Atlanta, Georgia 30334
[phone] Fax [phone]

January 2021

To All Recipients of Suggested Pattern Jury Instructions:

The Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia is pleased to present the January 2021
update to the Suggested Pattern Jury Instructions, Vol. II: Criminal Cases, 4th ed. (2007).
The sections provided contain the changes; please replace the original sections in their
entirety.

We encourage attorneys to submit pattern jury instructions to judges and to do so either by
reproducing specific charges contained herein or by citing pages in these volumes.

The Council welcomes suggestions for revising or adding to the pattern instructions with
regard to content, language, or format to promote the goal of providing pattern instructions
that are accurate, understandable, and convenient. Please submit any suggestions to the
Pattern Jury Instructions Committee of the Council at the above address.
List of Amended Charges

3.01.10 Justification; Generally (revised charge)
3.10.10 Justification; Use of Force in Defense of Self or Others (revised
charge)
3.12.10 Justification; Use of Force in Defense of Habitation (Motor Vehicle)
(revised charge)
3.14.10 Justification; Use of Force in Defense of Property (revised charge)
Suggested Pattern Jury Instructions

Volume II: Criminal Cases
State of Georgia

Fourth Edition

By the Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia
© 2018 by the Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia
All rights reserved. First edition 1984
Printed in the United States of America
Dedication
Marcus B. Calhoun

Judge Marcus Calhoun was one of the moving forces in drafting and publishing standard, or
“pattern,” jury charges for use throughout Georgia. For many years, he was chair of the
Pattern Jury Instructions Committee of the Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia. The
suggested pattern jury instructions have achieved widespread acceptance in large part
because of the tireless efforts of Judge Calhoun.

Judge Marcus B. Calhoun was born on June 7, 1917, in Mt. Vernon, Georgia. His father,
also named Marcus B. Calhoun, was an attorney in the private practice of law in
Montgomery County, Georgia, until his death in 1934. His mother, the former Annie
Griffith of Athens, Georgia, taught music at Brewton Parker College.

Judge Calhoun received an associate degree from Brewton Parker College in 1936. Further
education was interrupted by the death of his father and the Great Depression, so he entered
the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), where he worked clearing swamp land in
southeastern Georgia. Upon leaving the CCC, he moved to Atlanta, where he secured
employment as an investigator/adjuster for an insurance company while attending Atlanta
Law School at night. Upon receiving his LL.B. from the Atlanta Law School, he was
admitted to the practice of law in Georgia in 1939.

Judge Calhoun first used his law degree to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
where he served from 1940 through 1945. During that time, he was assigned as a special
agent in the Baltimore, New York, and Atlanta offices of the FBI. While he worked on all
types of matters handled by the Bureau, his primary focus during the war years was directed
toward uncovering Nazi espionage.

In 1946, Judge Calhoun left the FBI and moved to Thomasville, Georgia, to join Frank L.
Forester in what, for twenty-one years, would remain the two-man firm of Forester &
Calhoun. Judge Calhoun was the trial lawyer in what was essentially a small-town general
practice. During the 1950s, he was appointed solicitor for the City Court of Thomasville, a
part-time position he retained until he was appointed district attorney of the Southern
Judicial Circuit in 1967.

In April 1969, Judge Calhoun was appointed to the Superior Court Bench by Gov. Lester
Maddox. He served in that capacity until accepting senior judge status on April 15, 1979. He
continued to serve as a senior judge until his death in April 1998. During most of his tenure
as a senior judge, he also remained active on the Pattern Jury Committee.

Judge Calhoun married the former Bernice Wolfe of Wilkes County, Georgia, on June 15,
1940. Mrs. Calhoun died in 1999. They had three sons and one daughter. All three sons are
graduates of the University of Georgia School of Law: Marcus Benton Calhoun, Jr., is a
practicing attorney with the Columbus, Georgia, firm of Page, Scrantom, Sprouse, Tucker &
Ford; William M. Calhoun is a member of the faculty of the U.S. Navy War College,
Providence, Rhode Island; and Samuel W. Calhoun is a professor of law at Washington and
Lee University, Lexington, Virginia. Their daughter, Bernice Calhoun Freed, died in
November 2000. She was a teacher, farmer, artist, and entrepreneur residing in Guatemala at
the time. There are 12 Calhoun grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.
In Honor of
Frank Coxe Mills III
Judge Frank Coxe Mills III of Canton, Georgia, is the former Chief Judge of the Blue Ridge
Judicial Circuit (Cherokee). He was born July 7, 1948, in DeKalb County, Georgia. He
graduated from Emory University, BA 1970, and University of Georgia School of Law, JD
1973. Judge Mills was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army (Res.) with the rank of
Captain.
He served as Chief Assistant District Attorney and District Attorney from February 1974 to
February 1981. He received the Distinguished District Attorney Award from the Prosecuting
Attorney’s Council in 1979.
Judge Mills was appointed Superior Court Judge of the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit on
February 9, 1981. He served until his retirement from the active bench at the end of 2012.
Judge Mills chaired the Pattern Jury Instructions Committee for more than 17 years. He has
worked tirelessly on behalf of his fellow judges and attorneys by drafting and revising jury
charges based upon changes in the law.
Judge Mills has been an instructor at many continuing education seminars for District
Attorneys, the Police Academy, and Superior Court Judges. He was elected and has served
on the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia and as District Administrative Judge
and member of Judicial Council. Judge Mills is a veteran of hundreds of civil and criminal
jury trials as an attorney and judge.

Judge Mills is also active in community affairs, most notably the Boy Scouts of America. He
also received the Whitney M. Young Award for distinguished service to rural or low-income
urban youth, the Justice Robert Benham Public Service Award from the State Bar of
Georgia, and the Jean Harris Rotarian Award.

On June 28, 1980, Judge Mills married Amanda L. Crouthers. They are the parents of one
son, Army Captain Frank Crouthers Mills.

The Pattern Jury Instructions Committee takes pride in dedicating the criminal volume of the
Suggested Pattern Jury Instructions to Judge Mills in honor of his long-standing service.

Chair, John E. Morse Jr.
Civil Vice Chair, Mary Staley
Jeffrey S. Bagley
Joseph H. Booth
Geronda V. Carter
David L. Cavender
Wade Crumbley
Warren Davis
Alford J. Dempsey Jr.
Edgar W. Ennis Jr.
Raymond George
Reuben M. Green
Frank D. Horkan
Ronnie Joe Lane
Todd Markle
Bemon Gilmore McBride III
Amanda H. Mercier
F. Gates Peed
Robert S. Reeves
William D. Reinhardt II
J. Stephen Schuster
W. James Sizemore Jr.
D. Jay Stewart
Ralph Van Pelt Jr.
Timothy R. Walmsley
Brenda S. Weaver