Eliot Ryan Rutledge v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Eliot Ryan Rutledge v. State

DecidedMay 1, 2023

DocketA23A0419

StatusPublished

This text of Eliot Ryan Rutledge v. State (Eliot Ryan Rutledge v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Eliot Ryan Rutledge v. State, (Ga. Ct. App. 2023).

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Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 01, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A23A0419. ELIOT RYAN RUTLEDGE v. THE STATE.

In October 2021, Eliot Ryan Rutledge pled guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of family violence battery, four counts of false imprisonment, two counts of family violence simple battery, and two counts of criminal damage to property in the second degree. Rutledge subsequently filed a pro se motion to modify his sentence, which the trial court denied. Rutledge filed a notice of appeal, and this Court dismissed the appeal as untimely. See Case No. A22A1219 (decided April 25, 2022). Rutledge then filed a second pro se motion to modify or reduce his sentence. The trial court “dismissed and/or denied” this second motion. Rutledge filed a notice of appeal, and this Court dismissed the appeal as untimely. See Case No. A23A0090 (decided August 8, 2022). On August 30, 2022, Rutledge filed his third motion to modify or reduce his sentence, arguing that the court should reduce his sentence because of “mitigating factors” such as his role in the community prior to his incarceration; because the trial court did not give him an opportunity to withdraw his guilty plea before sentencing; because his sentence was based on “hearsay claims” of rape; and because his sentence was disproportionate under the Eighth Amendment. The trial court “dismissed and/or denied” this third motion, and Rutledge appeals. Rutledge’s current appeal is barred because all of the arguments he raised in his third motion to modify or reduce his sentence were raised in one or both of his previous motions to modify his sentence. Thus, the issues he raises on appeal have or could have been litigated in his prior appeals. See Echols v. State, 243 Ga. App. 775, 776 (534 SE2d 464) (2000) (“It is axiomatic that the same issue cannot be relitigated ad infinitum. The same is true of appeals of the same issue on the same grounds.”) (punctuation omitted); Ross v. State, 310 Ga. App. 326, 327 (713 SE2d 438) (2011) (dismissal of previous appeal constitutes binding law of the case, even though the appeals court did not reach the merits of the claim in the prior case). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/01/2023 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.

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Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 01, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A23A0419. ELIOT RYAN RUTLEDGE v. THE STATE.

In October 2021, Eliot Ryan Rutledge pled guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of family violence battery, four counts of false imprisonment, two counts of family violence simple battery, and two counts of criminal damage to property in the second degree. Rutledge subsequently filed a pro se motion to modify his sentence, which the trial court denied. Rutledge filed a notice of appeal, and this Court dismissed the appeal as untimely. See Case No. A22A1219 (decided April 25, 2022). Rutledge then filed a second pro se motion to modify or reduce his sentence. The trial court “dismissed and/or denied” this second motion. Rutledge filed a notice of appeal, and this Court dismissed the appeal as untimely. See Case No. A23A0090 (decided August 8, 2022). On August 30, 2022, Rutledge filed his third motion to modify or reduce his sentence, arguing that the court should reduce his sentence because of “mitigating factors” such as his role in the community prior to his incarceration; because the trial court did not give him an opportunity to withdraw his guilty plea before sentencing; because his sentence was based on “hearsay claims” of rape; and because his sentence was disproportionate under the Eighth Amendment. The trial court “dismissed and/or denied” this third motion, and Rutledge appeals. Rutledge’s current appeal is barred because all of the arguments he raised in his third motion to modify or reduce his sentence were raised in one or both of his previous motions to modify his sentence. Thus, the issues he raises on appeal have or could have been litigated in his prior appeals. See Echols v. State, 243 Ga. App. 775, 776 (534 SE2d 464) (2000) (“It is axiomatic that the same issue cannot be relitigated ad infinitum. The same is true of appeals of the same issue on the same grounds.”) (punctuation omitted); Ross v. State, 310 Ga. App. 326, 327 (713 SE2d 438) (2011) (dismissal of previous appeal constitutes binding law of the case, even though the appeals court did not reach the merits of the claim in the prior case). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/01/2023 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.

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