Brooks v. Georgia

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Acting pro se, Marshae Brooks appealed the trial court’s denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea to murder and other charges, denial of his motion for an out-of-time appeal of his convictions, and denial of his motion for appellate counsel. Because the trial court previously had rejected Brooks’s earlier motion for an out-of-time appeal of his convictions, the court properly denied his subsequent motion for an out-of-time appeal. Because his motion to withdraw his plea was untimely, the trial court should have dismissed, rather than denied, that motion, and the Georgia Supreme Court vacated the trial court’s order on that motion and remand for entry of the appropriate order. Because Brooks’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea was untimely, and because indigent defendants generally are not entitled to the assistance of counsel to prosecute a motion for an out-of-time appeal, the trial court properly denied his request for counsel. View "Brooks v. Georgia" on Justia Law