French v. State

Smith, Presiding Justice,

We granted a writ of certiorari to the Court of Appeals in French v. State, 198 Ga. App. 210 (401 SE2d 67) (1990), and informed the parties that we were particularly concerned with whether “[T]he Court of Appeals properly conclude[d] that Smith v. State [255 Ga. 654 (341 SE2d 5) (1986)] mandates a remand to the trial court?” We hold that under the facts of this case that our holding in Smith does not mandate a remand, and we reverse.

The standard for evaluating an ineffective assistance of counsel claim is quoted from Strickland v. Washington, 466 U. S. 668, 687 (104…