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Mahone v. State

The record of the hearing on the defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea created the appearance that the judge believed he did not need to consider the merits of the motion simply because the defendant responded negatively during the plea hearing to a single magic question—has anyone forced you, threatened you or coerced you into entering a plea.

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The Superior Court of Muscogee County accepted the guilty plea tendered by Herman Mahone to two counts of aggravated assault, OCGA § 16-5-21 a 2 with a deadly weapon; and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime against or involving the person of another, OCGA § 16-11-106 b 1. Mahone then filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. After a hearing, at which Mahone was represented by new counsel, the trial court denied his motion, and he appeals pro se. He contends that there was not a factual basis for his plea, that the trial court erroneously refused to replace his appointed counsel, and that his plea was not knowing and voluntary, due to the ineffective assistance of counsel and because he was taking mental health medication when he entered his plea. For the reasons explained below, we vacate and remand for a new hearing.

After sentence is pronounced, the decision whether to allow the withdrawal of a guilty plea lies within the sound discretion of the trial court, and this Court will not reverse the trial court’s decision absent a manifest abuse of that discretion. When the validity of a guilty plea is challenged, the State bears the burden of showing that the plea was voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently made. The State may do this by showing through the record of the guilty plea hearing that 1 the defendant has freely and voluntarily entered the plea with 2 an understanding of the nature of the charges against him and 3 an understanding of the consequences of his plea. The trial court is the final arbiter of all factual issues raised by the evidence.

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