Lebron Keith Hooper v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: August 17, 2020
• Docket: A21A0044
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ August 12, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A21A0044. LEBRON KEITH HOOPER v. THE STATE.

In 2017, a jury convicted Lebron Keith Hooper of two counts of aggravated sodomy and one count each of aggravated child molestation and cruelty to children in the first degree. This Court affirmed Hooper convictions in an unpublished opinion. Hooper v. the State, Case No. A19A1926 (decided March 6, 2020). In June 2020, Hooper filed a pro se motion to vacate a void judgment. The trial court dismissed the motion, and Hooper filed this appeal. As the Supreme Court has made clear, a post-conviction motion seeking to vacate or set aside 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, 532 (690 SE2d 150) (2010). Here, Hooper asserted that due to ineffective assistance of counsel and alleged jury instruction error, his convictions should be vacated. This is not a valid procedure for challenging the judgment in his criminal case. Accordingly, Hooper’s appeal from the denial of his motion is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 08/12/2020 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.