Berrien v. State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the trial court’s denial of Michael Berrien’s motion to withdraw his Alford guilty plea to felony murder. The Court held that Berrien failed to demonstrate ineffective assistance of counsel and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow withdrawal of the plea, even though Berrien claimed a manifest injustice. The decision relied on the standards set by Alford and Georgia precedent on plea withdrawals.