Bennefield v. the State.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the trial court’s denial of Michael Bennefield’s motion for an out‑of‑time appeal of his 1993 convictions. The Court held that Bennefield failed to show a constitutional‑level excuse for missing the appeal deadline, that his guilty plea was knowing and voluntary, and that his counsel’s performance was not ineffective. Accordingly, no basis existed for granting the out‑of‑time appeal.