Scott v. State

── Scott v. State ── Court: Supreme Court of Georgia Date: May 19, 2026 Category: General NOTICE: This opinion is subject to modification resulting from motions for reconsideration under Supreme Court Rule 27, the Court’s reconsideration, and editorial revisions by the Reporter of Decisions. The version of the opinion published in the Advance Sheets for the Georgia Reports, designated as the “Final Copy,” will replace any prior version on the Court’s website and docket. A bound volume of the Georgia Reports will contain the final and official text of the opinion. In the Supreme Court of Georgia No. S26A0454 Christopher Scott v. The State On Appeal from the Superior Court of Chatham County No. SPCR1902491J2 Decided: May 19, 2026 PINSON, Justice. Christopher Scott was convicted of the malice murder of his wife, Tiffany Scott, and possession of a firearm during the com- mission of a felony. 1 On appeal, he claims that the trial court 1 Tiffany died from a gunshot wound on June 21, 2019. In September 2019, a Chatham County grand jury returned an indictment charging Scott with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Scott was tried by a jury from May 2 to 4, 2022, and the jury found him guilty of all counts. On June 15, 2022, the trial court sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole for malice murder and a consecutive term of five years in prison for one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The trial court purported to merge all remaining counts with the charge of malice murder, but the felony murder count was vacated by operation of law. See Depriest v. State, 319 Ga. 874, 874 n.1 (2024). Scott, through his trial counsel, filed a timely motion for new trial on July 5, 2022. Substitute counsel entered an appearance in February 2023 and filed amended motions for new trial in May and August 2023. After a hearing in November 2023, the trial court denied the motion for new trial on August 14, 2025. Scott timely filed a notice of appeal on August 22, 2025, but directed erred by not charging the jury on involuntary manslaughter based on reckless conduct and pointing a pistol because there was at least slight evidence to support the charge. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the trial court did not err by declining to charge the jury on unlawful act involuntary manslaughter based on reckless conduct or pointing a pistol because the evidence showed that Scott instead committed aggravated assault, which cannot be the basis for this charge. And to the extent that Scott claims that the trial court should have charged the jury on lawful act involuntary manslaughter, he failed to preserve that claim for ordinary review, and he has not established plain error because he affirmatively waived any right to that charge by withdrawing his request. So Scott’s convictions and sentences are affirmed. 1. Background (a) The evidence at trial showed the following. Scott and Tiffany had been in a relationship for eight years and married for one. They lived together with Tiffany’s daughter, and Scott’s two children stayed with them every other weekend. Tiffany’s daugh- ter, Sierra Lopez, was 19 years old when Tiffany died. Lopez tes- tified that she and Tiffany were close, and Lopez knew that Tif- fany had discovered that Scott was having an affair “maybe