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Ross v. State

The Court adopted the limited ruling in Old Chief v. United States, 519 U.S. 172 1977, that a trial court abuses its discretion in refusing a defendant's offer to stipulate to his prior conviction where the purpose of the evidence is solely to prove the defendant's status as a convicted felon and the nature of the prior conviction is inflammatory.

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A jury in Fulton County convicted Todrick Ross of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, and possession of a weapon in the commission of a felony.1 Ross contends that the trial court erred by admitting the name and nature of his prior felony conviction, for purposes of the possession of a weapon by a convicted felon charge, in spite of his offer to stipulate to his status as a convicted felon. We hereby adopt the reasoning set forth by the United States Supreme Court in Old Chief v. United States ,2 and hold that in the circumstances presented in this case, it was indeed erroneous for the trial court to admit the name and nature of Ross’s prior offense. Because the other properly admitted evidence overwhelmingly proves Ross’s guilt, however, we hold the error to be harmless and, therefore, affirm. 1. The evidence presented at trial shows that on May 27, 2003, Ross went to the Fulton County home of Tredika Thornton to visit his estranged wife and to return their child in accordance with the couple’s visitation schedule. The couple quarreled, and Ross left the house. Four or five minutes later, Ross returned to the home and rushed upstairs to the room where Michael Reese was staying. Ross was aware that his wife had formerly been engaged in a romantic relationship with Reese. Thornton followed Ross upstairs, and saw him fire two shots at Reese, killing him.

After reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict, we conclude that there was sufficient evidence for a rational trier of fact to find Ross guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of malice murder and the other crimes for which he was convicted.3

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