Upton v. Parks, 284 Ga. 254

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed an order granting Deunte Quintellas Parks habeas corpus relief. The court held that Parks failed to establish materiality for his Brady claim, that counsel's decision not to call alibi witnesses did not violate the Sixth Amendment or constitute ineffective assistance, and that the record showed Parks knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to testify. All justices concurred.

Holdings

1. Parks failed to establish the prejudice necessary to overcome procedural default because he did not show that the NIBIN report or its reference to a witness description was material or actually exculpatory.
2. A defendant's disagreement with counsel's decision not to call particular witnesses does not establish a Sixth Amendment compulsory-process violation because the ultimate decision concerning which witnesses to call is defense counsel's strategic responsibility.
3. Parks failed to establish ineffective assistance because counsel's decision not to call the alibi witnesses was a considered and reasonable strategic decision, and thus did not constitute deficient performance.
4. The habeas court clearly erred in finding that the record was silent on whether Parks knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to testify because the trial transcript showed a proper colloquy and Parks confirmed that he did not wish to testify.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Parks established cause and prejudice sufficient to overcome procedural default of his Brady claim based on the undisclosed NIBIN report.
2. Whether the failure to call Parks's proposed alibi witnesses violated his Sixth Amendment right to compulsory process or constituted ineffective assistance of counsel.
3. Whether Parks knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to testify at trial.

Disposition

reversed