Larry Price was convicted of child molestation after a bench trial. Before trial, a form stated that he waived a jury trial, but the record did not show that the trial court personally advised him about the constitutional right or determined that his waiver was knowing and voluntary. The Georgia Court of Appeals vacated the conviction and remanded for a limited hearing on the waiver. A criminal defendant must personally and intelligently participate in giving up the right to a jury, and when the waiver is challenged the State bears the burden of proving that it was informed and voluntary. The written form and counsel’s recitation did not resolve the issue because neither established Price’s personal understanding. The court held that the record did support the conviction’s sufficiency, but it could not decide the waiver question on the existing record. The court also declined to consider Price’s ineffective-assistance claim because appellate counsel had not first raised it through a motion for new trial, which was the earliest practicable opportunity.