Christopher Jason Gray v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: October 29, 2014
• Docket: A15A0274
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 24, 2014

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A15A0274. CHRISTOPHER JASON GRAY v. THE STATE.

In 1995, Christopher Gray pled guilty to kidnapping, rape, aggravated assault, aggravated sodomy, and armed robbery and was sentenced to life in prison followed by 20 years. In August of 2014, Gray filed a motion to correct void sentence, arguing that the trial court lacked jurisdiction over him. We lack jurisdiction. The Supreme Court has made clear that a post-conviction motion seeking to vacate an allegedly void criminal conviction is not one of the established procedures for challenging the validity of a judgment in a criminal case, and an appeal from the trial court’s ruling on such a petition should be dismissed. See Roberts v. State, 286 Ga. 532 (690 SE2d 150) (2010); Harper v. State, 286 Ga. 216, 218 (1) (686 SE2d 786) (2009). A direct appeal may lie from the denial of a motion to correct a void sentence if the defendant raises a colorable claim that the sentence is void. See Burg v. State, 297 Ga. App. 118, 119 (676 SE2d 465) (2009). A sentence is void only when the trial court imposes a punishment that the law does not allow; assertions taking issue with the procedure employed in imposing the sentence do not constitute colorable void sentence claims. See Coleman v. State, 305 Ga. App. 680 (700 SE2d 668) (2010). Here, Gray does not allege any colorable void sentence claim. Rather, he argues that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. Because Gray is not authorized to collaterally attack his conviction in this manner, we lack jurisdiction to consider his appeal. Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 10/24/2014 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.