Dresbach v. State
308 Ga. 423
| Ga. | 2020Background
- In April 2014 Jennifer Gatewood was shot and killed in a hotel room; Dresbach, a convicted felon with multiple prior felony convictions, was identified as the shooter and later arrested.
- Police seized a handgun from Dresbach; a GBI firearms examiner matched the gun to the bullet recovered from Gatewood and testified the trigger required about 6.75 pounds of pressure.
- Dresbach admitted shooting Gatewood but claimed the shooting was accidental while he was under the influence of methamphetamine; he also admitted carrying a loaded, chambered gun that night.
- A Fulton County grand jury indicted Dresbach on malice murder, two counts of felony murder (including based on possession of a firearm by a convicted felon), aggravated assault, drug and gun charges; a jury convicted him and the trial court sentenced him to life without parole on one felony murder count plus consecutive/probated terms on other counts.
- The State had offered Dresbach a plea of life with the possibility of parole, which trial counsel communicated as rejected; Dresbach later moved for a new trial claiming ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to advise him sufficiently about the strength of the case and applicable law, causing him to reject the plea.
- The trial court denied the motion for new trial; the Georgia Supreme Court reviewed the record (including independent sufficiency review) and affirmed, holding Dresbach failed to show a reasonable probability he would have accepted the plea but for counsel’s alleged deficiency.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Dresbach) | Defendant's Argument (State) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether trial counsel was ineffective for not fully explaining strength of evidence and relevant law, causing Dresbach to reject a plea offer | Counsel misadvised or failed to fully advise; had he been properly advised, Dresbach would have accepted the State’s offer of life with parole possibility | Contemporaneous record and counsel’s testimony show Dresbach rejected the offer and told counsel he would not accept life-with-parole; no credible evidence he would have accepted | Affirmed denial of new trial: Dresbach failed to prove prejudice — no reasonable probability he would have accepted the plea |
| Whether the evidence was legally sufficient to support convictions | (No sufficiency challenge by Dresbach) | State: evidence (confession, gun match, admissions) supports convictions | Court independently reviewed and found the evidence sufficient under Jackson v. Virginia |
| Whether the Court should correct alleged trial-court sentencing errors raised by the State on appeal | N/A (defendant benefits from sentencing rulings) | State argued some sentencing errors favored Dresbach but did not cross-appeal | Court declined to consider sentencing errors because State failed to cross-appeal and identified no exceptional circumstances |
Key Cases Cited
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (establishes two-prong ineffective-assistance standard)
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (sets legal-sufficiency standard for criminal convictions)
- Yarn v. State, 305 Ga. 421 (defines prejudice test where ineffective assistance caused rejection of plea offer)
- Dixon v. State, 302 Ga. 691 (explains discretionary correction of state-raised sentencing errors when State fails to cross-appeal)
- Shivers v. State, 286 Ga. 422 (discusses whether a status felony is inherently dangerous depends on facts)
- Metts v. State, 270 Ga. 481 (upholds felony-murder predicated on possession-of-firearm-by-convicted-felon given factual circumstances)
- Merzbacher v. Shearin, 706 F.3d 356 (defendant must present credible evidence that he would have accepted a plea absent counsel’s deficiency)