Mark Dewayne Mathis v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: June 4, 2026
• Docket: A26A1974
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ June 04, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A1974. MARK DEWAYNE MATHIS v. THE STATE.

In 2019, Mark Dewayne Mathis was convicted of two counts of possession of methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute, one count of driving without headlights, and one count of failure to maintain brake lights, for which he was sentenced as a recidivist to a total of 40 years with the first 20 years to serve in confinement. This Court affirmed his convictions on appeal in an unpublished opinion. Mathis v. State, Case No. A22A0673 (Aug. 16, 2022). In January 2026, Mathis filed a motion to vacate a void sentence. The trial court denied the motion, and Mathis filed this appeal. In his void-sentence motion, Mathis claimed that the State improperly relied on a GCIC criminal history report to prove a prior conviction and presented a certified copy of Mathis’s waiver-of-counsel form filed in that case. However, Mathis unsuccessfully challenged the use of the GCIC report and the waiver form in his previous appeal. Mathis may not relitigate these claims in this appeal. See Paradise v. State, 321 Ga. App. 371, 373 (740 SE2d 238) (2013) (although a void sentence may be challenged at any time, such a challenge is nevertheless subject to the equally well-established principles of res judicata and the law-of-the-case rule). Consequently, Mathis is not entitled to a direct appeal, and this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 06/04/2026 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.