Brown v. Parody

A divided Supreme Court held that the habeas court erred in ruling that the undisputed facts showed that plea counsel was deficient with regard to consideration of the defendant's competency.

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Following the grant of habeas relief to Timothy Parody premised on a finding that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel, Dennis Brown, acting as the warden of Augusta State Medical Prison, appeals. For the reasons that follow, we reverse.

1. “In reviewing the grant or denial of a petition for habeas corpus, this Court accepts the habeas court’s factual findings and credibility determinations unless they are clearly erroneous, but we independently apply the law to the facts.” Citation omitted. Henderson v. Hames, 287 Ga. 534, 536 2 697 SE2d 798 2010. The record shows that, on January 13, 2011, Parody pled guilty but mentally ill to two counts of child molestation involving acts he committed on his younger brother. As part of a plea bargain, the State agreed to dismiss three additional charges of aggravated child molestation which Parody would have otherwise faced at a trial. After a hearing, the trial court accepted Parody’s plea, and Parody was sentenced to fifteen years of incarceration in a medical prison where he would receive treatment with an additional fifteen years of probation. On June 29, 2012, Parody, acting pro se, filed an application for writ of habeas corpus, contending that his trial counsel was ineffective because she failed to investigate all mitigating factors in regards to his mental health condition and his competency to stand trial. Following a hearing, the habeas court granted Parody’s request for habeas relief. This ruling was incorrect, as Parody proved neither deficient performance nor prejudice.

Brown v. Parody

A divided Supreme Court held that the habeas court erred in ruling that the undisputed facts showed that plea counsel was deficient with regard to consideration of the defendant's competency.

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