Usher v. State, 303 Ga. 622

In Sept. 2003 Johnny O’Neal Usher pleaded guilty to murder, rape, and burglary; he did not timely appeal.
Fourteen years later Usher moved for leave to take an out-of-time appeal; the trial court denied the motion.
Usher asserted he would challenge the indictment’s sufficiency, the factual basis for the plea, the voluntariness/knowing nature of the plea (citing alleged mental instability), and defense counsel’s failure to object.
The plea hearing transcript contains the prosecutor’s factual proffer tying Usher to the crime (victim’s description, DNA, ID by husband, blunt-force trauma causing death).
The transcript also shows the court advised Usher of rights waived and Usher confirmed understanding, including the privilege against self-incrimination.
The trial court denied relief; the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed for failure to show the claimed errors would be resolved favorably on the existing record.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Entitlement to an out-of-time appeal after guilty plea	Usher: should be allowed to pursue an out-of-time appeal to raise multiple errors	State: Usher must show the proposed claims would be resolved favorably based on the existing record	Denied — Usher failed to show any claim would succeed on the record, so no out-of-time appeal
Indictment sufficiency	Usher: murder count (murder during aggravated assault) was not detailed enough	State: Usher waived defects by not timely filing a special demurrer; indictment would survive a general demurrer	Held against Usher — failure to timely demur waives right; no showing indictment would fail a general demurrer
Factual basis for plea	Usher: plea court accepted plea without adequate factual basis	State: prosecutor’s proffer at plea hearing supplied an adequate factual basis (victim ID, DNA, circumstances, death)	Held against Usher — record shows adequate factual basis
Voluntariness and ineffective assistance at plea	Usher: was mentally unstable and didn’t understand plea; counsel ineffective for not objecting	State: plea transcript shows Usher understood charges, rights, and his privilege against self-incrimination; no record of incapacity or ineffective assistance	Held against Usher — record shows plea was knowing and voluntary; no ineffective-assistance demonstrated

Mims v. State, 299 Ga. 578 (2016) (out-of-time appeal from guilty plea requires showing proposed errors would be resolved favorably on existing record)
Dasher v. State, 285 Ga. 308 (2009) (failure to timely file a special demurrer waives right to be tried on a "perfect indictment")