Troy Wade v. State

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,__________________ March 31, 2014

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A14A1050. TROY WADE v. THE STATE.

Troy Wade was charged with several offenses, including aggravated sodomy, kidnaping, and criminal intent to commit rape. He pled guilty to all the charges except aggravated sodomy, which was nolle prossed. Several years later, he filed a Motion to Vacate Void Judgment. In this motion Wade argued, generally, that he should not have been convicted of several offenses based on his conduct in a single incident, and that the nolle prosecution of the aggravated sodomy charge precluded a conviction on the other charges. The trial court denied his motion, and Wade filed this appeal. “[A] petition to vacate or modify a judgment of conviction is not an appropriate remedy in a criminal case.” Harper v. State, 286 Ga. 216, 218 (1) (686 SE2d 786) (2009). Any appeal from an order denying or dismissing such a motion must be dismissed. See id.; Roberts v. State, 286 Ga. 532 (690 SE2d 150) (2010). A direct appeal may lie from an order denying or dismissing a motion to vacate a void sentence, but only if the defendant raises a colorable claim that the sentence is, in fact, void. See Harper, supra at n.1; Burg v. State, 297 Ga. App. 118, 119 (676 SE2d 465) (2009). A sentence is void only if it imposes punishment that the law does not allow. Crumbley v. State, 261 Ga. 610, 611 (a) (409 SE2d 517) (1991). “Motions to vacate a void sentence generally are limited to claims that – even assuming the existence and validity of the conviction for which the sentence was imposed – the law does not authorize that sentence, most typically because it exceeds the most severe punishment for which the applicable penal statute provides.” Von Thomas v. State, 293 Ga. 569, 572 (2) (748 SE2d 446) (2013). Here, Wade did not contend that his sentence was outside the statutory maximum for his offenses. Instead, he argued that his convictions were invalid. These are not colorable void-sentence arguments. See id. Accordingly, Wade’s appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 03/31/2014 Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,__________________ 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.