Floyd Antonio Arnold v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: March 20, 2025
• Docket: A25A1285
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ March 20, 2025

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A25A1285. FLOYD ANTONIO ARNOLD v. THE STATE.

In 2007, Floyd Arnold entered a negotiated guilty plea to armed robbery. In January 2023, Arnold filed a motion to vacate a void sentence and void judgment, which the trial court dismissed. Arnold filed this appeal to challenge the dismissal of that order. We lack jurisdiction. The Supreme Court has made clear that a motion seeking to challenge an allegedly invalid or void judgment of conviction “is not one of the established procedures for challenging the validity of a judgment in a criminal case” and that an appeal from the dismissal of such a motion is subject to dismissal. Roberts v. State, 286 Ga. 532, 532 (690 SE2d 150) (2010). A direct appeal may lie from an order denying a motion to correct a void sentence, but only if the defendant raises a colorable claim that the sentence is, in fact, void or illegal. See Harper v. State, 286 Ga. 216, 218 (2) (686 SE2d 786) (2009); Burg v. State, 297 Ga. App. 118, 119 (676 SE2d 465) (2009). Arnold has not raised such a colorable claim here. Accordingly, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/20/2025 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.