Opinion
A23A1483
08-09-2023
JOHN THOMAS ROONEY v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
John Thomas Rooney has filed several appeals in this Court seeking to overturn his 1995 convictions and sentence entered upon a guilty plea to charges of rape and related crimes. In Case No. A00A2387, this court affirmed the denial of Rooney's motion for an out-of-time appeal by unpublished opinion. See Rooney v. State, 248 Ga.App. XXVII (2001) (Case No. A00A2387). Thereafter, this Court affirmed or dismissed at least ten other appeals by Rooney regarding his convictions and sentence.
Case Nos. A02A1640 (dismissed Apr. 17, 2002); A02A1641 (affirmed Sept. 19, 2002); A06A0616 (dismissed Dec. 2, 2005); A06A1032 (dismissed Jan. 26, 2006); A07A1192 (dismissed Mar. 6, 2007); A08A2273 (dismissed Feb. 3, 2009); A11A1316 (affirmed in Rooney v. State, 311 Ga.App. 376 (715 S.E.2d 780) (2011)); A12A0994 (dismissed in Rooney v. State, 318 Ga.App. 385 (734 S.E.2d 104) (2012); A13A0922 (dismissed Apr. 1, 2013); A19A0285 (dismissed Oct. 4, 2018).
The present appeal is from the denial of what appears to be Rooney's seventh challenge to his sentence. “It is axiomatic that the same issue cannot be relitigated ad infinitum.” Echols v. State, 243 Ga.App. 775, 776 (534 S.E.2d 464) (2000). In light of Rooney's previous appeals, we are precluded from revisiting the issue. See Paradise v. State, 321 Ga.App. 371, 373 (740 S.E.2d 238) (2013) (“Although a void sentence may be challenged at any time, ‘this important legal principle is, nevertheless, subject to the equally well established principles of res judicata and the law-of-the-case rule once the issue has been raised and ruled upon.'”); Ross v. State, 310 Ga.App. 326, 328 (713 S.E.2d 438) (2011) (while a void sentence is a nullity and may be vacated at any time, it is still subject to res judicata and law-of-the-case rule; defendant is "not entitled to multiple bites at the apple").
Because Rooney is not entitled to make multiple challenges to the validity of his convictions and sentences in the trial court, and because Rooney has clearly exhausted or otherwise waived all rights he may have had to seek appellate review of his convictions and sentences by direct appeal, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.