Walker v. Hagins, 290 Ga. 512

Hagins was convicted of voluntary manslaughter after a May 30, 2003 jury trial and sentenced to 20 years.
On direct appeal Hagins challenged sufficiency of the evidence and denial of a motion to dismiss the jury panel based on clerical errors in excusing jurors.
The Court of Appeals affirmed, adopting an assumption of correctness of the trial court’s denial due to lack of a transcript from the motion-to-dismiss hearing.
Hagins sought habeas corpus relief, claiming ineffective assistance of appellate counsel for failing to ensure inclusion of all transcripts in the appellate record.
Habeas relief was granted on the ineffective-assistance claim after an evidentiary hearing, and the Warden appealed.
The Supreme Court reversed, holding Hagins failed to prove prejudice, and thus the habeas court erred in granting relief; judgment reversed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance prejudice	Hagins shows prejudice from missing transcript.	Hagins must show prejudice; mere missing transcript not sufficient.	Prejudice not shown; no automatic prejudice presumption
Presumption of prejudice after transcript loss	Presume prejudice due to appellate counsel's failure.	No presumption; must show actual prejudice with proportionate analysis.	Presumption inappropriate; requires demonstrated prejudice
Clerical excusal of jurors and denial of motion to dismiss jury panel	Clerical exemptions biased the panel; denial improper.	Clerk was properly empowered; panel size adequate; no vitiation of array.	Trial court did not err; no substantial probability of altered outcome

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (ineffective assistance standard: deficient performance and prejudice)
Battles v. Chapman, 269 Ga. 702 (Ga. 1998) (ineffective assistance standard applied in Georgia)
Anderson v. State, 285 Ga. 496 (Ga. 2009) (defendant must overcome presumption of reasonable professional conduct)
Morgan v. State, 275 Ga. 222 (Ga. 2002) (prejudice standard for ineffective assistance procedures)
Head v. Thomason, 276 Ga. 434 (Ga. 2003) (habeas court review standard for ineffective assistance findings)
Turpin v. Curtis, 278 Ga. 698 (Ga. 2004) (presumption of prejudice only in enumerated exceptions)
Bryant v. State, 288 Ga. 876 (Ga. 2011) (jury array integrity and impact of excusals)
English v. State, 290 Ga. App. 378 (Ga. App. 2008) (jury excusal procedures and effect on representation)
Hall v. State, 254 Ga. 272 (Ga. 1985) (venire size and statutory requirements for jury panels)
Yates v. State, 274 Ga. 312 (Ga. 2001) (standard for juror excusal under OCGA 15-12-1.1)
Gulley v. State, 271 Ga. 337 (Ga. 1999) (trial court discretion to excuse jurors beyond statute)
Sealey v. State, 277 Ga. 617 (Ga. 2004) (trial court discretion to excuse jurors independent of statute)