Gooden v. State, 305 Ga. 835

Gooden was indicted for felony murder from an October 2016 shooting and, represented by public defender Monica Myles, pled guilty pursuant to a negotiated plea on May 30, 2017 and was sentenced.
New counsel (Lawrence Daniel) was later appointed as outside conflict counsel and filed a motion to withdraw the guilty plea on June 16, 2017, alleging uncertainty whether grounds were voluntariness or ineffective assistance of plea counsel.
The trial court ordered Gooden produced for a hearing; at the October 10, 2017 hearing Daniel sought a continuance, explaining Gooden repeatedly changed her mind about pursuing withdrawal and had reported mental health issues and medication changes.
The court denied a continuance, Daniel presented no witnesses or evidence, and argued that Myles should have sought a psychiatric evaluation before the plea; the State argued the plea was knowing and that Gooden had been malingering.
The court denied the motion to withdraw, finding Gooden uncooperative with counsel, that the plea was given knowingly and voluntarily under Boykin, and that no deficient performance by Myles was shown.
On appeal Gooden argued the case should be remanded for an evidentiary hearing on plea counsel ineffectiveness (failure to seek competency evaluation); the Supreme Court affirmed, holding the claim had been raised and adjudicated below and no remand was required.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether case must be remanded for evidentiary hearing on ineffective assistance of plea counsel for failing to seek competency evaluation	Gooden: she lacked a meaningful opportunity to develop the claim and needs a remand for an evidentiary hearing	State: claim was raised before the trial court and adjudicated; no further remand required	Court: Denied remand; claim was raised at the motion-to-withdraw hearing and adjudicated, so no remand for further factfinding was warranted

Johnson v. State, 259 Ga. 428 (recognizing remand may be appropriate where ineffectiveness is raised first on appeal by counsel who did not represent defendant at trial)
Rivers v. State, 250 Ga. 303 (discussing a defendant’s failure to cooperate with counsel as a basis for denying relief)
Owens v. State, 263 Ga. 99 (applying Johnson and recognizing remand in certain circumstances)
Terrell v. State, 300 Ga. 81 (holding a claim already raised and adjudicated below does not require remand for further hearing)
Patel v. State, 279 Ga. 750 (noting appellant must present argument supporting an ineffectiveness claim)
Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238 (holding pleas must be knowingly and voluntarily made with advisement of rights)
Davis v. State, 301 Ga. 658 (distinguishing cases where same counsel represented defendant at plea and post-plea motion)