Hooks v. Walley, 299 Ga. 588

Walley was indicted for aggravated sexual battery and child molestation; after plea negotiations, he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to a total of 20 years (15 in prison).
Trial counsel Spruell initially handled plea discussions; prosecutor sent a December 28, 2005 letter offering a plea with a five-year recommendation (five years to serve, 15-year recommendation overall), which appears to have been revoked after the court allowed similar transaction evidence.
At a March 23, 2006 hearing Spruell said he discussed the five-year offer with Walley, that Walley at times rejected it and later sought an Alford plea, and that the State withdrew the five-year offer when an Alford plea was proposed.
Post-conviction appellate counsel Steel raised other appellate issues, withdrew (at the trial-court new-trial hearing) a ground alleging Spruell failed to convey the plea offer, and did not pursue that claim on direct appeal.
In 2013 Walley filed a habeas petition claiming appellate counsel Steel was ineffective for abandoning the claim that Spruell failed to convey the plea offer; the habeas court granted the writ, finding both Spruell ineffective and Steel ineffective for not raising the plea-communication claim.
The Supreme Court of Georgia reversed, holding Walley failed to overcome the presumption that Steel’s decision to abandon the plea-communication claim was a reasonable, strategic choice and therefore the habeas court was not authorized to grant the writ.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether appellate counsel Steel rendered ineffective assistance by abandoning a claim that trial counsel Spruell failed to convey a plea offer	Walley: Steel unreasonably abandoned a meritorious claim that Spruell failed to convey the five-year plea, prejudicing his case	Warden/Hooks: Steel’s choice to withdraw the claim was a strategic decision entitled to a presumption of reasonableness; Walley offered no evidence to rebut that presumption	The Court held Walley failed to show Steel’s conduct was unreasonable; habeas court’s grant reversed
Whether the habeas court sufficiently supported its finding of ineffective assistance by appellate counsel with record evidence	Walley: The record shows Spruell did not properly convey the offer, so appellate counsel should have raised the claim	Warden/Hooks: The habeas record lacked the needed evidence (e.g., no trial transcript explanation for withdrawal; Steel not questioned on that decision) to find appellate counsel ineffective	The Court held the habeas court lacked sufficient evidence to overcome the presumption of reasonable appellate strategy

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (establishes two-prong ineffective assistance standard)
Arrington v. Collins, 290 Ga. 603 (2012) (appellate counsel’s issue-selection is presumptively reasonable; must show decision was unreasonable to prove deficiency)
Harris v. Upton, 292 Ga. 491 (2013) (failure to raise trial counsel’s plea-offer communication can support an ineffective-assistance claim)
Battles v. Chapman, 269 Ga. 702 (1998) (applying Strickland standard in Georgia)
Clowers v. Spikes, 272 Ga. 463 (2000) (habeas court must have record support for its findings)
State v. Garland, 298 Ga. 482 (2016) (appellate review of habeas ineffective-assistance rulings: accept factual findings unless clearly erroneous; legal review de novo)