Spiller v. State

In 2001, a Fulton County jury convicted Marvin Spiller of felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with the shooting death of Courtney Price. Spiller appeals, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. He also contends the trial court erred in overruling his objection to a statement the prosecutor made during closing argument, erroneously instructed the jury, and improperly denied his motion for a directed verdict of acquittal at the close of the State’s evidence. Finding no merit in these arguments, we affirm.1 1. Spiller does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence used to convict him. Nevertheless, a brief account of his crimes may be helpful to put the issues on appeal in context. The evidence in the record was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that on June 2, 1995, Spiller drove his car through a crowd of young men playing basketball on the street three times. Each time, the men avoided injury only by jumping out of the way. Following an altercation with some of the men, Spiller drove to his girlfriend’s home nearby, retrieved his .22 caliber rifle from the closet, and returned to the area where the young men were playing basketball. He hid in the bushes and fired into the crowd of young men. One shot struck and killed Courtney Price. Spiller heard other gunshots and left. Police traced the other gunshots to Stephen Hill, who fired his 9mm handgun into the air after he heard gunshots nearby.

2. Spiller insists that the trial court erred in denying him a hearing on his claim that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at his 2001 trial. By this, he means that at the hearing on his out-of-time motion for new trial, the trial court refused to allow him to introduce evidence that his trial counsel’s performance was constitutionally deficient and that but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, there is a reasonable probability that the outcome of the 2001 trial would have been different.2 This argument is meritless.