Hardeman v. State

In Hardeman v. State, 281 Ga. 220 (635 SE2d 698) (2006), the defense attorney was defending against an allegation of kidnapping with bodily injury and the trial court limited counsel's closing argument to one hour despite the provisions of OCGA 17-8-73. One of the applicable principles of law in a capital case is that defense counsel is entitled to two hours of closing argument. OCGA 17-8-73. The right to make closing argument is an important one, the abridgement of which is not to be tolerated. Ricketts v. State, 276 Ga. 466, 470 (4) (579 SE2d 205) (2003). However, the record shows that Hardeman's lawyer was under the misimpression that he was entitled to only one hour to make his argument and, thus, failed to object when, fifty-five minutes into his argument, the trial court erroneously informed him that he had five minutes left. Accordingly, the attorney was unaware of an important statutory right available to the defense and waived that right through inadequate preparation, rather than as a matter of trial tactics. Under these circumstances, Hardeman met his burden showing the deficient performance prong of his ineffectiveness claim. Hardeman, supra, 281 Ga. at 221.