A former Atlanta lawyer has had his road rage murder conviction quashed by the Georgia Supreme Court. Bryan Keith Schmitt's life sentence for the 2019 death of Hamid Jahangard was overturned this week, with the court highlighting a critical judicial error during the trial.
Schmitt, who was convicted in 2022 of fatally running over Jahangard after an alleged golf ball-induced road rage incident, argued that it was an accident, a claim he now finds backed by the state's highest court. The incident took place on River Valley Road in Sandy Springs, when something struck Schmitt's Mercedes, leading him to confront Jahangard, as reported by Fox 5 Atlanta. Initially, a witness stated that Schmitt seemed "very emotionless, very plain" following the incident, one of several behavioral cues prosecutors used to argue for criminal intent.
However, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the jury should have received instructions on the legal definition of an "accident," which presiding Judge Melynee Leftridge failed to provide. She had initially agreed to but reversed her decision later, incorrectly instructing the jury to dismiss "accident" as a principle in the case, despite Schmitt's testimony. Justice Nels Peterson of the Supreme Court wrote that "Schmitt's testimony that the collision was an accident presented at least slight evidence necessary to warrant an instruction on the defense of accident" in statements obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Video from the scene showed Schmitt quickly attempting to aid Jahangard, leveraging his medical training from his U.S. Army days. Prosecutors, however, pointed out inconsistencies in Schmitt's statements to bystanders and authorities. In a dramatic court testimony, Schmitt referred to the incident as "a tragic accident," a mistake that haunts him, sentiments that did not convince the jury which convicted him on all five counts he faced after more than six hours of deliberation.
Now the feeling of relief comes from Schmitt's corner, with his attorney, Don Samuel saying, "The unanimous Supreme Court decision reversing the conviction was a welcome relief and we look forward to Bryan’s ultimate exoneration." Schmitt, still in custody, is expected to be transferred to the Fulton County Jail where he can request bond while awaiting retrial. The Fulton County District Attorney's Office informed that they plan to retry Schmitt "as soon as possible," a move that brings some hope to Jahangard’s sister, Roya, who expressed shock at the verdict's reversal but remained optimistic about a subsequent trial.
