McKiernan v. State, 288 Ga. 140

McKiernan shot his wife in the back of the head after a domestic dispute and disposed of the body in the woods.
Initially claimed suicide, then suggested a burglar, then admitted the shooting but claimed it was accidental during a fight.
He was indicted on malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, concealing a death, and weapon during the crime; pled guilty to felony murder on Jan 31, 2007.
McKiernan moved to withdraw the plea on Feb 27, 2007; the motion was denied on May 18, 2010.
He argued ineffective assistance of counsel and that the plea was not knowing/voluntary; the trial court and appellate review proceeded accordingly.
The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the denial of the motion to withdraw the plea.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance—was counsel deficient and prejudicial	McKiernan	McKiernan	Counsel acted reasonably; no deficient performance shown
Knowingly and voluntarily entered guilty plea under Alford	McKiernan	State	Plea valid; Alford not required; record shows knowing/voluntary entry

Jackson v. State, 285 Ga. 840 (Ga. 2009) (ineffective assistance standard for guilty-plea withdrawals)
Duque v. State, 271 Ga. App. 154 (Ga. App. 2004) (Alford-plea analysis in Georgia)
North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (U.S. 1970) (validates accepting guilty plea despite asserted innocence under certain conditions)
Smith v. State, 283 Ga. 237 (Ga. 2008) (trial counsel's strategic decisions evaluated under reasonableness standard)