Arnold v. State

Summary

The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Darchelle Renee Arnold’s motion to withdraw her guilty plea to two counts of felony murder and one count of aggravated assault. The court held that Arnold failed to establish ineffective assistance of counsel or manifest injustice resulting from the trial court’s failure to advise her on the record of the mandatory minimum sentence.

Holdings

1. A defendant challenging a guilty plea based on ineffective assistance must show deficient performance and prejudice, with prejudice established by a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's errors, the defendant would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on trial. Arnold failed to establish deficient performance because the trial court credited counsel's testimony that he correctly advised her about parole eligibility and did not tell her she could withdraw the plea at any time.
2. Arnold was not entitled to withdraw her guilty plea to correct a manifest injustice even though the trial court did not advise her on the record of the mandatory minimum sentence, because the record showed that she knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived her rights and counsel had correctly advised her concerning the length of her sentence.

Questions Presented

1. Whether defense counsel provided ineffective assistance by allegedly misadvising Arnold about parole eligibility and her ability to withdraw the guilty plea after sentencing.
2. Whether Arnold's guilty plea was involuntary or resulted in a manifest injustice because the trial court did not advise her on the record of the mandatory minimum sentence for felony murder under Uniform Superior Court Rule 33.8.

Disposition

affirmed