Dexter Lee Williams v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: March 11, 2026
• Docket: A26A1245
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ March 11, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A1245. DEXTER LEE WILLIAMS v. THE STATE.

Following a jury trial, Dexter Williams was convicted of two counts of violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, OCGA § 16-14-1 et seq. After the trial court denied his motion for a new trial, Williams filed a direct appeal to this Court, and we affirmed his convictions in an unpublished opinion. See Williams v. State, Case No. A24A1012 (Oct. 29, 2024). In 2025, Williams again appealed to this Court and we dismissed that appeal, concluding that his appeal was an impermissible second attempt to challenge his conviction. See Williams v. State, Case No. A25A1946 (Jul. 29, 2025). Williams then filed in the trial court several more motions, seeking relief from the judgment against him. The trial court denied Williams’s motions and he filed this direct appeal. The State has filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that this Court lacks jurisdiction because this appeal represents an impermissible second attempt by Williams to challenge his conviction. We agree. Pretermitting issues as to the validity of the motions Williams filed in the court below, Williams’s current appeal is barred because the issues he seeks to raise could have been raised in his initial appeal. See State v. Jackson, 295 Ga. 825, 827 (764 SE2d 395) (2014) (a judgment affirming a criminal conviction “is conclusive of all matters in issue or that might legally have been put in issue”) (citation and punctuation omitted). See also Jackson v. State, 273 Ga. 320, 320 (540 SE2d 612) (2001) (a party “is not entitled to another bite at the apple by way of a second appeal”).

Accordingly, the State’s motion is GRANTED and this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/11/2026 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.