From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Ray v. State of Georgia

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Sep 2, 1969
170 S.E.2d 44 (Ga. Ct. App. 1969)

Opinion

44417.

ARGUED APRIL 9, 1969.

DECIDED SEPTEMBER 2, 1969.

Delinquent minor. Fulton Juvenile Court. Before Judge Dillon.

J. Ben Shapiro, Jr., for appellant.

Harold Sheats, Martin H. Peabody, R. Neal Batson, for appellee.


This appeal is from a judgment of the Juvenile Court of Fulton County finding a minor to be in a state of delinquency and placing him on probation. The petition for delinquency was based on the minor being an accessory after the fact to the theft of an automobile. The car was stolen on November 29, 1968, and this minor and another were apprehended in the vehicle after a gunfire chase by the police on December 1, 1968. The record shows that the other person in the stolen vehicle had admitted guilt of the theft prior to the hearing accorded this minor. The contention is that the evidence did not authorize the judgment. The transcript shows that the minor orally admitted to investigating officers that he had been in possession of the car and had driven it while knowing that it was stolen. These admissions, if corroborated, are sufficient to authorize the finding of delinquency. See Brooks v. State, 98 Ga. App. 13 ( 104 S.E.2d 620); Licette v. State, 75 Ga. 253; Cobb v. State, 76 Ga. 664; Moore v. State, 94 Ga. App. 210 ( 94 S.E.2d 80). Admissions or confessions may be corroborated by proof of the corpus delicti. Here, there was ample proof of the corpus delicti. See Seymour v. State, 210 Ga. 571 (7) ( 81 S.E.2d 808); Davis v. State, 211 Ga. 76 ( 84 S.E.2d 46).

The transcript reveals that the juvenile court judge, before accepting the admission in evidence, was meticulous in assuring himself that the minor had been fully and carefully warned of his constitutional rights before making them. The sufficiency of the warnings is not disputed, so the principles stated in In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 ( 87 SC 1428, 18 L.Ed.2d 527), and in Freeman v. Wilcox, 119 Ga. App. 325 ( 167 S.E.2d 163) are not in issue in this case.

Judgment affirmed. Eberhardt and Deen, JJ., concur.

ARGUED APRIL 9, 1969 — DECIDED SEPTEMBER 2, 1969.


Summaries of

Ray v. State of Georgia

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Sep 2, 1969
170 S.E.2d 44 (Ga. Ct. App. 1969)
Case details for

Ray v. State of Georgia

Case Details

Full title:RAY v. STATE OF GEORGIA

Court:Court of Appeals of Georgia

Date published: Sep 2, 1969

Citations

170 S.E.2d 44 (Ga. Ct. App. 1969)
170 S.E.2d 44

Citing Cases

Scoggins v. State

Proof of the corpus delicti is sufficient to corroborate a confession. See Ray v. State of Ga., 120 Ga. App.…