Christopher B. Thomas v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: April 10, 2015
• Docket: A15A1444
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ April 09, 2015

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A15A1444. CHRISTOPHER B. THOMAS v. THE STATE.

In 1996, a jury found Christopher B. Thomas guilty of kidnapping and armed robbery. The trial court sentenced him to twenty years to serve on the kidnapping count and ten years to serve on the armed robbery count, to run consecutively. We affirmed Thomas’s convictions on appeal. Thomas v. State, 238 Ga. App. 42 (517 SE2d 585) (1999). In 2015, Thomas filed a motion to correct a void sentence, arguing that, in the absence of aggravating factors, the law required his sentences to run concurrently, rather than consecutively. The trial court denied the motion, and Thomas appeals. We, however, lack jurisdiction. Although a direct appeal may lie from an order denying a motion to correct a void sentence, a defendant must raise a colorable claim that the sentence is, in fact, void or illegal. See Harper v. State, 286 Ga. 216, 218 (1) (686 SE2d 786) (2009); Burg v. State, 297 Ga. App. 118, 119 (676 SE2d 465) (2009). A sentence is void only if it imposes punishment that the law does not allow. Crumbley v. State, 261 Ga. 610, 611 (a) (409 SE2d 517) (1991). “Motions to vacate a void sentence generally are limited to claims that – even assuming the existence and validity of the conviction for which the sentence was imposed – the law does not authorize that sentence, most typically because it exceeds the most severe punishment for which the applicable penal statute provides.” Von Thomas v. State, 293 Ga. 569, 572 (2) (748 SE2d 446) (2013). Because it is well-established that “whether to impose consecutive or concurrent sentences for multiple offenses is within the trial court’s discretion,” Simpson v. State, 310 Ga. App. 63, 64 n. 4 (715 SE2d 675) (2011), Thomas has not raised a colorable void sentence claim. Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 04/09/2015 Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 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.