Blackwell v. State
| Decision Date | 19 August 2019 |
| Docket Number | S19A0801 |
| Parties | BLACKWELL v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
306 Ga. 577
832 S.E.2d 352
BLACKWELL
v.
The STATE.
S19A0801
Supreme Court of Georgia.
Decided: August 19, 2019
John Jody Blackwell, Ware State Prison, Waycross, Georgia, 31503, for Appellant.
Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Deputy Attorney General, Paula Khristian Smith, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Christopher M. Carr, Attorney General, Matthew David O'Brien, Assistant Attorney General, DEPARTMENT OF LAW, Atlanta, Georgia 30334, Layla Hinton Zon, District Attorney, ALCOVY JUDICIAL CIRCUIT DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, Covington, Georgia 30014, Tara Latimer, WALTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, Monroe, Georgia 30655, for Appellee.
WARREN, Justice.
Just over four years after the trial court denied his timely motion to withdraw his guilty plea to murder and other crimes, appellant John Blackwell filed a pro se motion for out-of-time appeal. The trial court denied that motion summarily and without holding a hearing. As the Attorney General properly concedes, we must vacate the trial court’s order and remand the case for the trial court to hold a hearing to determine whether Blackwell is entitled to an out-of-time appeal due to the ineffective assistance of his motion-to-withdraw counsel.
It is well settled that a defendant has the right to appeal the denial of his motion to withdraw a guilty plea, as well as "the right to the effective assistance of counsel as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment for that appeal."
Ringold v. State , 304 Ga. 875, 878, 823 S.E.2d 342 (2019). And it is true, as Blackwell notes, that we have held that when a defendant’s right to appeal from the denial of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea is frustrated either by the trial court’s failure to inform him of his right to appeal or by counsel’s ineffective assistance, he is entitled to an out-of-time appeal. See Cobb v. State , 284 Ga. 74, 74, 663 S.E.2d 262 (2008) ; Carter v. Johnson , 278 Ga. 202, 205, 599 S.E.2d 170 (2004).1
Blackwell contends that he is entitled to an out-of-time appeal because neither the trial court nor his motion-to-withdraw counsel informed him of his right to appeal. As for the allegation of trial court error, Blackwell has waived that claim because he did not raise it in his motion for out-of-time appeal. See Ringold , 304 Ga. at 877, 823 S.E.2d 342 (holding that Ringold’s claim that he was entitled to an out-of-time appeal because the trial court failed to inform him of his right to appeal was not properly before our Court because Ringold did not first assert it in his motion for an out-of-time appeal). With respect to Blackwell’s claim that his right to appeal was frustrated by the ineffectiveness of his motion-to-withdraw counsel, however, we cannot determine...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Jones v. State
...that appeal." (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Ringold v. State , 304 Ga. 875, 878, 823 S.E.2d 342 (2019). See Blackwell v. State , 306 Ga. 577, 577, 832 S.E.2d 352 (2019). When a defendant is deprived of his right to appeal from the denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea due ......
- Jacobs v. State, S19A0723
-
Murray v. State
...Collier , 307 Ga. at 364-365 (1), 834 S.E.2d 769.6 Boone. v. State , ––– Ga. ––––, 853 S.E.2d 118 (2010), quoting Blackwell v. State , 306 Ga. 577, 578, 832 S.E.2d 352 (2019), and citing Collier , 307 Ga. at 376 (3), 834 S.E.2d 769. We note that a defendant alleging an ineffective assistanc......
-
Boone v. State
...in failing to file a notice of appeal because the trial court failed to hold an evidentiary hearing on the issue." Blackwell v. State , 306 Ga. 577, 578, 832 S.E.2d 352 (2019). Accordingly, we must vacate the trial court's order denying Boone's motion for an out-of-time appeal and remand th......