Bobby Paradise v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: December 19, 2018
• Docket: A19A0593
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ December 05, 2018

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A19A0593. BOBBY PARADISE v. THE STATE.

In 1993, a jury convicted Bobby Paradise of four counts each of aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, and child molestation. The trial court sentenced Paradise to consecutive life sentence and 40 years, with the final 20 years to be served on probation. We affirmed his convictions on direct appeal. Paradise v. State, 212 Ga. App. 166 (441 SE2d 497) (1994). Since then, Paradise has filed several motions seeking to vacate his convictions and sentence. See, e.g., Paradise v. State, 321 Ga. App. 371 (740 SE2d 238) (2013). In his most recent motion, filed in January 2018, a “Motion in the Nature of Writ of Coram Nobis to Vacate a Void Judgment,” Paradise alleges several due process violations associated with his arrest and convictions. The trial court denied the motion, and Paradise filed this direct appeal. We, however, lack jurisdiction. As the Supreme Court has explained, a post-conviction motion to vacate an allegedly void conviction is not an appropriate remedy in a criminal case. See Roberts v. State, 286 Ga. 532, 532 (690 SE2d 150) (2010); Harper v. State, 286 Ga. 216, 218 (1) (686 SE2d 786) (2009).1 Any appeal from an order denying or dismissing such a motion must be dismissed. See Roberts, 286 Ga. at 532; Harper, 286 Ga. at 218 (2).

1 The Court has also explained that a criminal defendant seeking to challenge a conviction after it has been affirmed on direct appeal may “file an extraordinary motion for new trial, OCGA § 5-5-41, a motion in arrest of judgment, OCGA § 17-9- 61, or a petition for habeas corpus[,] OCGA § 9-14-40.” Harper, 286 Ga. at 217 (1). Accordingly, because Paradise’s motion to vacate his convictions is not a valid remedy, his appeal from the trial court’s denial of that motion is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 12/05/2018 I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.