Prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers are intrigued by a ruling from the Supreme Court of Georgia that shed light on how the government must corroborate evidence from an alleged accomplice who is testifying against a defendant.

The justices last month unanimously ordered a new trial for Michael Pindling, who is serving a life-without-parole sentence for malice murder and additional crimes. The high court ruled the trial judge erred when he told jurors that a single witness’ testimony was sufficient to prove a fact without also instructing the jury on the requirement that an accomplice’s testimony must be corroborated.