Our client was convicted of battery in Fulton County State Court and we were retained to handle the appeal.
Since the client was convicted at a bench trial and there was no transcript of the trial, the client’s only hope was a petition for habeas corpus relief. We argued that the client never formally waived his right to a jury trial and he was never fully informed of the consequences of waiving that right by proceeding with a bench trial. At the hearing on our habeas corpus petition, it became clear that his trial attorney never advised him of these rights and proceeded to a bench trial under the false impression that the State’s witnesses would not be available to testify. Thus, the habeas court held that the State could not establish that out client knowingly and intelligently waived his constitutional right to a jury trial. As a result, the habeas court vacated our client’s conviction.
Categories | Appeals,