Powell v. State, 309 Ga. 523

Powell was charged with two counts of malice murder (and related offenses) arising from an August 2016 shooting.
He had a strained relationship with appointed plea counsel and sought to terminate her; the court held an October 12, 2018 hearing and declined to replace counsel.
On February 19, 2019, Powell pleaded guilty to two counts of malice murder and was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences with parole eligibility; other charges were nolle prossed or merged.
Powell (through new counsel) filed a timely motion to withdraw his guilty plea on March 4, 2019, alleging (1) inadequate Boykin advisement re: right to testify, (2) ineffective assistance due to counsel breakdown and lack of preparation, and (3) error in denial of substitute counsel.
The trial court held a hearing, credited plea counsel’s testimony over Powell’s, found the plea knowing and voluntary, and denied the motion on October 2, 2019; Powell appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Powell was properly advised of Boykin rights at plea	Powell: plea colloquy and prosecutor’s remark suggested he didn’t know he could testify without counsel’s approval; thus waiver not knowing	State: record shows explicit advisement and written waiver; prosecutor’s imprecise remark doesn’t invalidate plea	Court: Boykin claim rejected; plea knowingly and voluntarily entered
Whether counsel’s breakdown and preparation rendered assistance ineffective	Powell: counsel pushed plea, failed reasonable investigation (character witnesses, challenging ID), relationship deteriorated; Cronic-type constructive denial argued	State: Strickland/Hill apply; court credited counsel, no deficient performance shown and no prejudice proven; Cronic exception not met	Court: Ineffective-assistance claim fails for lack of prejudice and no constructive denial of counsel
Whether the court erred in handling Powell’s request for substitute counsel	Powell: hearing was not ex parte and USCR 4.3 required substitution; denial infected plea	State: guilty plea waives non-voluntariness defenses and Powell shows no exception or prejudice; handling need not be reached	Court: Declined to find reversible error; even if error existed, Powell wasn’t prejudiced and plea stands

Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238 (requires record showing waiver of certain constitutional rights at plea)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (ineffective assistance standard: deficient performance and prejudice)
Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52 (prejudice standard for ineffective assistance in guilty-plea context)
Cronic v. United States, 466 U.S. 648 (rare circumstances for presumed prejudice)
Bell v. Cone, 535 U.S. 685 (limits on Cronic presumed-prejudice doctrine)
Walden v. State, 291 Ga. 260 (motion to withdraw plea post-sentencing is discretionary; relief for manifest injustice)
Maddox v. State, 278 Ga. 823 (withdrawal needed if plea involuntary or without understanding of charges/rights)
DeToma v. State, 296 Ga. 90 (State bears burden to show plea was knowing, intelligent, voluntary)
Nejad v. State, 286 Ga. 695 (defendant, not counsel, decides whether to testify)
Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510 (counsel’s duty to investigate; deference to strategic judgments)