Swann v. State, 310 Ga. 175

Appellant Dakota Swann was indicted and tried for the January shooting death of Shannon Williams; the jury convicted Swann of malice murder (life with possibility of parole) and related firearms offenses, acquitting on some counts.
Eyewitnesses placed Swann at or fleeing the scene carrying a handgun; a jailhouse letter and other evidence linked Swann to the killing.
Swann had been shot twice in 2007 (February and November); the State argued the murder was motivated by revenge for one of those prior shootings.
Swann claimed trial counsel failed to (a) adequately investigate and introduce court records showing Tyrone Smith had been convicted for the February 2007 shooting (which Swann says undercuts the State’s revenge theory), and (b) advise him about parole implications of a pretrial plea offer (25 years for lesser offenses).
The trial court held an evidentiary hearing on Swann’s amended motion for new trial, denied relief, and the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed, finding no reversible deficiency or prejudice.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Swann)	Defendant's Argument (State)	Held
1) IAC for failing to investigate/use Feb 2007 shooting records	Counsel failed to obtain court documents showing Tyrone Smith was convicted for the Feb 2007 shooting; the records would have rebutted the State’s revenge motive theory	Counsel did investigate, elicited testimony about cooperation, and even if investigation was imperfect, the documents would be cumulative and would not change outcome given eyewitness evidence	Court assumed possible deficient performance but found no prejudice — conviction would likely stand; no relief granted
2) IAC for failing to advise on parole consequences of plea offer	Counsel did not inform Swann of parole eligibility tied to the 25-year plea; Swann would have accepted plea if properly advised	Pre-2015 Georgia precedent did not require counsel to advise on parole; counsel’s omission was not deficient at the time	No ineffective assistance: counsel’s conduct reasonable under then-controlling law; claim fails

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)
Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (sufficiency-of-the-evidence standard for upholding convictions)
Williams v. Duffy, 270 Ga. 580 (1999) (Georgia pre-2015 rule: counsel not required to advise on parole eligibility)
Alexander v. State, 297 Ga. 59 (2015) (overruled Williams — changed rule on counsel advising about parole eligibility)
Eller v. State, 303 Ga. 373 (2018) (failure to admit evidence not prejudicial where evidence was cumulative)
Grant v. State, 305 Ga. 170 (2019) (no prejudice where strong guilt evidence undermines IAC claim)
Cook v. State, 255 Ga. 565 (1986) (motive is not an element of murder)