Court Opinion

ID: 9609798
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 03:31:36.971422+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:02:52.552194
License: Public Domain

Nichols, Chief Justice,
concurring specially.
The decision of this court in Thornton v. Ault, 233 Ga. 172 (210 SE2d 683) involved an appointed counsel who had failed to advise the prisoner of his right of appeal. Such fact was undisputed and this court held: "Since the evidence presented at the habeas corpus hearing showed that the appellant was not fully informed of his appellate rights, and that his direct appeal was foregone by his attorney without his consent, the judgment of the habeas corpus court must be reversed and remanded with direction that the convicting court enter an order *748providing for the appointment of counsel for an appeal from the original conviction to be filed and prosecuted at this time.”
In Hopkins v. Hopper, 234 Ga. 236 (215 SE2d 241), the case was remanded because "The habeas [corpus] court made no finding as to whether petitioner was ever made aware that his retained counsel had withdrawn from the case and had decided to abandon the appeal.”
These cases recognize that an attorney, whether appointed or retained, may not make the decision for the client that no appeal will be taken. They also recognize that where retained counsel represents the prisoner in the trial of the case that there has been no responsibility on the trial court to inform a prisoner of his right of appeal since the court could assume that retained counsel would properly protect his appellate rights.
While the decision in this case now places the burden on the trial court to insure that a defendant is informed of his right of appeal, this does not really change the law as set forth in Hopkins v. Hopper, supra, inasmuch as the effect of such decision would be to grant the prisoner an out-of-time appeal if the decision to abandon the former appeal was made without his knowledge.
The net effect of this decision is to require that the record in the convicting court show that the defendant has been advised of his right of appeal so as to preclude confusion at later habeas corpus hearings, the same as the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U. S. 238, 242 (89 SC 1709, 23 LE2d 274) (1969) does as to guilty pleas. I would not vote to apply this decision retroactively but in the future would require that the record in the convicting court show that the defendant was properly advised of his right of appeal either by his attorney or by the court. Obviously, this could be more easily shown if the trial court so informed the convicted prisoner just as under the former law a prisoner was advised of the penalties of attempting to escape.
I am authorized to state that Justice Gunter and Justice Hill concur in this special concurrence.