Case Name: GREEN v. THE STATE
Court: Supreme Court of Georgia
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Decision Date: 2005-10-03
Citations: 279 Ga. 687
Docket Number: S05A1006
Parties: GREEN v. THE STATE.
Judges: All the Justices concur, except Sears, C. J., Carley and Melton, JJ., who dissent.
Reporter: Georgia Reports
Volume: 279
Pages: 687–691

Head Matter:
S05A1006.
GREEN v. THE STATE.
(620 SE2d 788)

Opinion:
Thompson, Justice.
In this habeas corpus case, Christopher D. Green, who is currently incarcerated in federal prison, challenges a guilty plea which he entered in 1992, and which is being used to enhance his federal sentence. Following a hearing, the habeas court rejected Green's challenge. We granted Green's application for a certificate of probable cause and posed this question: "Whether the habeas court erred in determining that petitioner knowingly and voluntarily entered a plea of guilty after waiving his constitutional rights." We find that the habeas court did so err and, therefore, we reverse.
The entry of a guilty plea involves the waiver of three federal constitutional rights: the privilege against compulsory self-incrimination, the right to trial by jury, and the right to confront one's accusers, and the trial court has a duty to ensure that the defendant understands the constitutional rights being waived. The record must disclose the accused's voluntary waiver of those constitutional rights since waiver will not be presumed from a silent record. In a habeas proceeding, the State has the burden of establishing the plea was knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered, and may do so by showing on the record of the guilty plea hearing that the defendant was cognizant of all'the rights he was waiving and the possible consequences of his plea; or . . . filling a silent record by use of extrinsic evidence that affirmatively shows that the guilty plea was knowing and voluntary.
(Citations and punctuation omitted.) Foskey v. Battle, 277 Ga. 480, 481-482 (591 SE2d 802) (2004).
The record is devoid of a guilty plea transcript so we have no way of knowing the extent of any colloquy between Green and the sentencing court. However, the record does contain a two-page form entitled "transcript of proceedings," as well as the affidavit of the attorney who represented Green at the guilty plea hearing. Like the pre-printed form in Foskey, supra, the "transcript of proceedings" in this case notified Green only that he had the right to plead not guilty and to be tried by a jury. It did not advise Green of the privilege against self-incrimination or the right to confront his accusers. In his affidavit, Green's attorney averred, in pertinent part: "In preparation for the eventual plea of guilty entered by Christopher D. Green, I know that I would have personally advised... Green that he had the right to a trial by jury, that he had the right not to testify against himself at... trial and that I, as his attorney, would have the right to confront the witnesses brought against him by the prosecution during the trial."
The habeas court acknowledged that the " 'transcript of proceedings,' standing alone, did not satisfy the dictates of Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U. S. 238 (89 SC 1709, 23 LE2d 274) (1969)," which mandates that a defendant must be advised fully of his constitutional rights, including the right to trial by jury, the right to confront witnesses, and the right against self-incrimination. Nevertheless, the habeas court concluded that Green was advised of his constitutional rights and that he voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived those rights. That conclusion was based on the affidavit of Green's attorney, and the lack of any definitive assertion by Green that he was not informed of his constitutional rights.
The State can try to show that a defendant was fully informed of his constitutional rights by introducing the testimony of the attorney who represented defendant at the guilty plea hearing. If the attorney is unable to remember whether he advised defendant of the three constitutional rights set forth in Boykin, he can testify about his routine or standard practice in that regard, and that testimony "can be used in demonstrating compliance with constitutional standards." Bazemore v. State, 273 Ga. 160, 162 (535 SE2d 760) (2000). See also Foskey v. Battle, supra. The State attempted to carry its burden in this case by introducing the affidavit of Green's attorney who averred, as noted above, that he knew he would have informed Green of his Boykin rights. This attempt falls short because the attorney gives no factual basis for his conclusion. He offers not one word about his usual and customary practice at guilty plea hearings; he says nothing about his routine or standard procedure. In short, he provides no indication that his conduct at guilty plea hearings was so fixed and customary astobe habitual. See Thomas v. Newnan Hosp., 185 Ga.App. 764, 768 (365 SE2d 859) (1988), quoting Fletcher Emerson Mgmt. Co. v. Davis, 134 Ga. App. 699, 701 (215 SE2d 725) (1975) ("Although a witness may have no distinct or independent recollection of the details of a fact occurring in the course of the routine of his business, he may testify as to his fixed and uniform habit in such cases and state that he knows that he did not vary from that habit.").
A plea of guilty is more than a mere confession of certain acts, "it is itself a conviction; nothing remains but to give judgment and determine punishment." The waiver of constitutional rights that occurs when a plea of guilty is entered is so great that it "demands the utmost solicitude of which courts are capable in canvassing the matter with the accused to make sure he has a full understanding of what the plea connotes and of its consequences."
(Footnotes omitted.) Bowers v. Moore, 266 Ga. 893, 894 (471 SE2d 869) (1996), quoted in Bazemore v. State, supra at 163.
The evidence offered by the State does not show affirmatively that Green was advised of his constitutional rights and that, nevertheless, he knowingly and voluntarily waived those rights. The habeas court erred in ruling otherwise.
Judgment reversed.
All the Justices concur, except Sears, C. J., Carley and Melton, JJ., who dissent.
See generally Craig v. State, 234 Ga. 398 (216 SE2d 296) (1975) (petitioner can attack Georgia conviction even though he is restrained by federal authorities in another state).
Green submitted an affidavit in which he averred "that the record only facially appears to establish a voluntary, knowing and intelligent waiver of [Green's] right to confront his accusers and privilege against self-incrimination." He added that the guilty plea was "unlawfully induced or not made voluntarily with [an] understanding of the nature of the charges and the consequences of the plea."