White v. State, S03G1535.

CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
Writing for the CourtTHOMPSON, Justice.
Citation594 S.E.2d 329,277 Ga. 647
PartiesWHITE v. The STATE.
Docket NumberNo. S03G1535.,S03G1535.
Decision Date08 March 2004

594 S.E.2d 329
277 Ga. 647

WHITE
v.
The STATE

No. S03G1535.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

March 8, 2004.


Marcus C. Chamblee, James C. Bonner, Jr., Atlanta, for appellant.

Paul L. Howard, Jr., Dist. Atty., Alvera A. Wheeler, Asst. Dist. Atty., for appellee.

THOMPSON, Justice.

Following a jury trial, White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault and sentenced to 20 years. His trial counsel filed a motion for new trial which languished for seven years. Apparently unaware that his motion for new trial was still pending, White sought an out-of-time appeal,

alleging he was denied his right of appeal due to the ineffectiveness of counsel. The trial court denied an out-of-time appeal without a hearing, and White filed a notice of appeal.1 The Court of Appeals affirmed, ruling that White demonstrated his failure to appeal was due to ineffective counsel, but that he failed to show the issues he would raise on appeal could be resolved by reference to facts in the record. White v. State, 261 Ga.App. 866, 867, 584 S.E.2d 5 (2003). This Court issued a writ of certiorari to the Court of Appeals and posed this question

[277 Ga. 648] Must a criminal defendant seeking an out-of-time appeal after being found guilty by a jury set forth the errors he would raise on appeal in addition to establishing that the loss of his right to a direct appeal was due to an attorney's inadequate performance? Compare Wheeler v. State, 269 Ga. 547, 499 S.E.2d 629 (1998) and Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872, 452 S.E.2d 756 (1995). See also Roe v. Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S. 470, 485, 120 S.Ct. 1029, 145 L.Ed.2d 985 (2000).

Because a direct appeal will not lie from a guilty plea unless the issue on appeal can be resolved by facts appearing in the record, a criminal defendant does not have an unqualified right to file a direct appeal from a conviction entered on a guilty plea. Wheeler v. State, supra at 548, 499 S.E.2d 629. However, a defendant does have an absolute right to file a direct appeal from a conviction entered after a jury or bench trial. Smith v. State, 266 Ga. 687, 470 S.E.2d 436 (1996). It follows that a defendant seeking an out-of-time appeal following a jury trial need only show that the procedural deficiency was due to counsel's failure to perform his duties. Rowland v. State, supra at 875-876, 452 S.E.2d 756; Cannon v. State, 175 Ga. App. 741, 742, 334 S.E.2d 342 (1985). He need not point to the record and set out the issues he...

To continue reading

Request your trial
11 cases
  • Collier v. State, S19A0658
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Georgia
    • October 21, 2019
    ...has signed an appeal waiver [that was included in his guilty plea agreement]." (citation and punctuation omitted)); White v. State , 277 Ga. 647, 648, 594 S.E.2d 329 (2004) (To obtain an out-of-time appeal from a judgment entered following a trial, the defendant need only show that the proc......
  • Collier v. State, S19A0658
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Georgia
    • October 21, 2019
    ...has signed an appeal waiver [that was included in his guilty plea agreement]." (citation and punctuation omitted)); White v. State , 277 Ga. 647, 648, 594 S.E.2d 329 (2004) (To obtain an out-of-time appeal from a judgment entered following a trial, the defendant need only show that the proc......
  • Cook v. State, S21A1270
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Georgia
    • March 15, 2022
    ...and properly applied its holding to the analysis of requests for out-of-time appeals from convictions after trials. See White v. State, 277 Ga. 647, 648 (594 S.E.2d 329) (2004). See also Collier, 307 Ga. at 366 (citing White). [8]Among the cases Collier overruled was Morrow v. State, 266 Ga......
  • Ringold v. State, S18A1215
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Georgia
    • January 22, 2019
    ...Georgia appellate courts have cited the pertinent parts of Flores-Ortega only once in the out-of-time-appeal context, in White v. State, 277 Ga. 647, 594 S.E.2d 329 (2004). (By contrast, the Eleventh Circuit has dozens of cases applying Flores-Ortega.) In White, we recognized in the context......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT