Bradford v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Bradford v. State

686 S.E.2d 473, 300 Ga. App. 894, 2009 Fulton County D. Rep. 3764, 2009 Ga. App. LEXIS 1295

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia

DecidedNovember 12, 2009

DocketA09A2280

StatusPublished

This text of 686 S.E.2d 473 (Bradford v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Bradford v. State, 686 S.E.2d 473, 300 Ga. App. 894, 2009 Fulton County D. Rep. 3764, 2009 Ga. App. LEXIS 1295 (Ga. Ct. App. 2009).

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Opinion

JOHNSON, Presiding Judge.

Following a bench trial, Nicholas Trent Bradford was convicted of violating the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, hindering a law enforcement officer, and several traffic offenses. Bradford was sentenced to a term of 45 years, of which 25 were to be served in custody. He appeals, claiming that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Finding no error, we affirm.

Bradford alleges that his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to advise him that the state had extended a plea offer that, if accepted, would have provided for a period of incarceration of not more than ten years. At the hearing on Bradford’s motion for new trial, however, trial counsel testified that he negotiated the plea offer with the state and discussed it “on a number of occasions” with Bradford. Trial counsel testified that Bradford did not express any interest in accepting the plea offer until after the offer expired; and, at that point, Bradford’s trial counsel was unable to convince the state to reinstate the offer.

The credibility of the defendant and trial counsel and the weight to be given their testimony lies solely with the trier of fact. 1 Here, the trial court heard the testimony of both witnesses, observed their demeanor on the witness stand, and weighed their credibility. The trial court’s finding regarding trial counsel’s effectiveness was supported by some evidence and was not clearly erroneous. 2

Judgment affirmed.

Ellington and Mikell, JJ., concur.

1

Beck v. State, 263 Ga. App. 256, 258 (D (b) (587 SE2d 316) (2003).

2

Id. at 259 (1) (d).

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JOHNSON, Presiding Judge.

Following a bench trial, Nicholas Trent Bradford was convicted of violating the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, hindering a law enforcement officer, and several traffic offenses. Bradford was sentenced to a term of 45 years, of which 25 were to be served in custody. He appeals, claiming that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Finding no error, we affirm.

Bradford alleges that his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to advise him that the state had extended a plea offer that, if accepted, would have provided for a period of incarceration of not more than ten years. At the hearing on Bradford’s motion for new trial, however, trial counsel testified that he negotiated the plea offer with the state and discussed it “on a number of occasions” with Bradford. Trial counsel testified that Bradford did not express any interest in accepting the plea offer until after the offer expired; and, at that point, Bradford’s trial counsel was unable to convince the state to reinstate the offer.

The credibility of the defendant and trial counsel and the weight to be given their testimony lies solely with the trier of fact. 1 Here, the trial court heard the testimony of both witnesses, observed their demeanor on the witness stand, and weighed their credibility. The trial court’s finding regarding trial counsel’s effectiveness was supported by some evidence and was not clearly erroneous. 2

Judgment affirmed.

Ellington and Mikell, JJ., concur.

1

Beck v. State, 263 Ga. App. 256, 258 (D (b) (587 SE2d 316) (2003).

2

Id. at 259 (1) (d).

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686 S.E.2d 473, 300 Ga. App. 894, 2009 Fulton County D. Rep. 3764, 2009 Ga. App. LEXIS 1295, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bradford-v-state-gactapp-2009.

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