Tookes v. State, 306 Ga. 166

Tookes and two co-defendants invaded the DeMagnus home; Mr. DeMagnus was fatally stabbed and Mrs. DeMagnus was robbed. Tookes later resisted arrest and attempted to take an officer’s weapon.
A grand jury indicted Tookes on murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, home invasion, aggravated assault, firearm possession during a crime, theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing/eluding, and attempting to remove a weapon from a public official.
On the day trial was set to begin, Reynolds and Wallace pleaded guilty; Tookes initially began a plea colloquy, said he did not wish to plead, was excused, then returned and entered guilty pleas after a renewed colloquy.
The trial court accepted Tookes’s plea and sentenced him, including life without parole for malice murder; the next day Tookes moved to withdraw his plea.
Tookes argued (1) his lawyer assured him he would receive life with parole if he pleaded guilty, and (2) he was absent during portions of proceedings constituting a denial of his right to be present. The trial court denied the motion; the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed.

Issue	Tookes' Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether plea was involuntary because counsel assured a life-with-parole sentence	Counsel told Tookes he would receive life with possibility of parole if he pleaded guilty	Counsel only said there was a chance of life with parole; no firm assurance	Court found trial court’s credibility findings (favoring counsel and mother) not clearly erroneous; plea not withdrawn
Whether Tookes’ brief absence from courtroom denied his right to be present at a critical stage	His absence during co-defendants’ pleas/proffers meant he missed critical proceedings that affected sentencing	Tookes was present for his own plea, separate factual proffer, and aggravation/mitigation; absence was during others’ proceedings and not a critical stage for him	Court held he was not absent for any critical stage; denial of withdrawal proper

McGuyton v. State, 298 Ga. 351 (credibility findings on plea issues are for the trial court)
Brewner v. State, 302 Ga. 6 (definition of a "critical stage" and right to be present)
Huff v. State, 274 Ga. 110 (right to be present attaches when defendant’s presence contributes to fairness)
Cunningham v. State, 304 Ga. 789 (life without parole sentence for malice murder during home invasion)
Harris v. State, 304 Ga. 276 (affirming life without parole for malice murder during violent crime)