Lewis v. State, 293 Ga. 544

In 1997 a Cobb County grand jury indicted Viondi Lewis on multiple counts including malice and felony murder; Lewis pled guilty on September 19, 1997 to one count of felony murder and received a life sentence; remaining charges were nol prossed as part of the plea agreement.
In 2004 Lewis, pro se, moved for an out-of-time appeal alleging his plea was not knowing and voluntary and that plea counsel and the trial court failed to inform him of appeal rights; the superior court denied the motion after a hearing.
Lewis appealed the denial; the direct transcript of the guilty plea hearing was unavailable because the court reporter’s disk was damaged and a transcript could not be prepared.
The record includes a signed, sworn three-page plea questionnaire executed the day of the plea, containing admissions, waivers of rights, and the judge’s written certification that Lewis’s plea was knowing and voluntary.
The trial court found a factual basis for the plea (noting a co-indictee’s earlier guilty plea and the indictment itself) and rejected Lewis’s request for an out-of-time appeal.
The Georgia Supreme Court reviewed the denial for abuse of discretion and affirmed, holding the record demonstrated the plea was knowing and voluntary and that claims requiring facts outside the record (ineffective assistance/misconduct) were not grounds for an out-of-time appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Lewis’s guilty plea was knowing and voluntary (Boykin rights)	Lewis: plea was not entered intelligently/voluntarily; Boykin rights and USCR advisements not explained on the record	State: plea questionnaire and judge’s certification show Lewis was advised and waived rights; State bears burden to show plea was voluntary	Court: Affirmed plea valid; record (plea form + judge’s certification) shows waiver of Boykin rights and voluntariness
Effect of missing verbatim plea transcript	Lewis: absence of transcript is fatal to validating the plea	State: transcript absence does not preclude review when other record evidence establishes voluntariness	Court: Transcript absence not fatal; other record evidence sufficed to evaluate plea
Compliance with Uniform Superior Court Rules (USCR 33.8–33.11)	Lewis: trial court failed to follow USCR requirements and reserve transcript	State: substantial compliance; plea form and judge’s on-record certification satisfy rules	Court: Substantial compliance found; no need for literal checklist if record shows plea was knowing and voluntary
Claims of ineffective assistance and counsel misconduct	Lewis: plea counsel’s conduct and ineffectiveness rendered plea invalid	State: such claims cannot be resolved on the face of the record and require outside proof	Court: Denied out-of-time appeal on these claims because they require evidence beyond the record

Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238 (U.S. 1969) (defendant must knowingly and voluntarily waive fundamental rights when pleading guilty)
Dennis v. State, 292 Ga. 303 (Ga. 2013) (denial of out-of-time appeal reviewed for abuse of discretion)
Adams v. State, 285 Ga. 744 (Ga. 2009) (out-of-time appeal may be denied if record shows no merit; factual basis may be evidenced by indictment and related material)
Britt v. Smith, 274 Ga. 611 (Ga. 2001) (State bears burden to show plea was informed and voluntary, including articulated Boykin waivers)
Moore v. State, 285 Ga. 855 (Ga. 2009) (absence of plea transcript does not automatically preclude review if other record supports voluntariness)
Smith v. State, 270 Ga. 68 (Ga. 1998) (substantial compliance with plea-advisory rules can suffice)
Arnold v. State, 292 Ga. 95 (Ga. 2012) (defendant need not be advised of every enumerated right verbatim to satisfy rules)
Burns v. State, 291 Ga. 547 (Ga. 2012) (ineffective-assistance claims often require extrinsic evidence and cannot be decided solely on the record)