Rosser v. State, 312 Ga. App. 240

Rosser was convicted after a bench trial of failing to comply with the sexual offender registry law and sentenced to ten years on probation with a $1,000 fine, instead of the two years on probation reportedly announced by the court.
The offense occurred on December 8, 2006, when the governing statute carried a ten-to-thirty year sentencing range.
The statute was amended in 2010 to provide a one-to-thirty year range, but the amendment was not retroactive to offenses committed before its effective date.
The State conceded the record did not show Rosser knowingly waived his right to a jury trial; the waiver issue is thus unsupported on the existing record.
The trial court’s failure to verify a knowing jury waiver requires vacating the conviction and remanding for an evidentiary hearing on waiver.
The sentence, however, was governed by the law in effect at the time of the offense and was within the ten-to-thirty year range, so the sentence was not error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the lack of a knowing jury waiver requires vacating the conviction.	Rosser; waiver not shown.	State; waiver presumed valid.	Conviction vacated; remanded for evidentiary hearing on waiver.
Whether the sentence complied with the law in effect at the time of offense.	Rosser; pipeline-rule protection may apply.	State; law in effect at offense governs sentencing.	Sentence ten years within pre-amendment range; affirmed as lawful.

Widner v. State, 280 Ga. 675 (2006) (statutory interpretation and timing of penalties)
Payne v. State, 217 Ga.App. 386 (1995) (burden on showing knowing, voluntary waiver of rights)
Jackson v. State, 253 Ga.App. 559 (2002) (record silence cannot demonstrate waiver)
Lawal v. State, 201 Ga.App. 797 (1991) (remand for evidentiary hearing on waiver)
Taylor v. State, 262 Ga. 584 (1992) (pipeline rule context for new criminal-procedure rules)