State Supreme Court upholds Jackson Co. child molestation conviction

ATLANTA - The Georgia Supreme Court Monday agreed with a state Court of Appeals Court ruling upholding a Jackson County child molestation conviction.

Michael Shane Bunn appealed his conviction on the grounds that he was denied his constitutional right to a competent attorney.

But in Monday's ruling, Justice David Nahmias wrote, "there is no reversible error, and we affirm the Court of Appeals' judgment."

The lone dissenter in the high court's 6-to-1 ruling was Justice Robert Benham, who wrote that he believes the Court of Appeals erred in ruling that the trial attorney's failure to object to the testimony of a therapist relating hearsay statements did not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel.

Bunn as convicted by a Jackson County jury in 2006.

(Click on the link below to read a full summary of the court's ruling.)