State v. Germany

Jordan, Presiding Justice.

This Court granted certiorari to review the Court of Appeals’ decision in the case of Germany v. State, 154 Ga. App. 579 (269 SE2d 75) (1980).

1. The Court of Appeals, citing Williams v. State, 148 Ga. App. 521 (251 SE2d 601) (1978), reaffirmed its prior holding that a defendant has an absolute statutory right, under Code Ann. § 27-1404, to withdraw a guilty plea prior to entry of the defendant’s sentencing judgment. We reverse this holding.

Code Ann. § 27-1404 provides that “[A]t any time before judgment is pronounced, the prisoner may withdraw the plea of ‘guilty’ .…