Opinion
A23A1666
07-20-2023
TEYON STOVER v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In 2006, a jury found Teyon Stover guilty of rape, kidnapping (two counts), child molestation (three counts) and aggravated assault, and the trial court entered a judgment of conviction. This Court affirmed his convictions on appeal. Stover v. State, 293 Ga.App. 210 (666 S.E.2d 602) (2008). In 2018, Stover filed a motion to vacate void sentence. The trial court granted the motion and resentenced Stover in 2019. Stover subsequently filed a notice of appeal from his amended sentence, but we dismissed the appeal because it was untimely. Case No. A20A0014 (Aug. 16, 2019).Then, in January 2023, Stover filed another motion to vacate void sentence, again challenging the 2019 sentence. Finding no legal basis for Stover's claim, the trial court dismissed the motion. Stover appeals.
Stover filed a motion for out-of-time appeal in 2020. The trial court granted the motion, and Stover filed a notice of appeal. However, because Stover had no right to file a motion for out-of-time appeal, see Cook v. State, 313 Ga. 471 (870 S.E.2d 758) (2022), we vacated the trial court's order granting the motion and remanded the case for the court to enter a dismissal order. Case No. A22A0862 (Apr. 19, 2022).
"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). Given that Stover previously appealed the same amended sentence, this current appeal is barred. See Norris v. Norris, 281 Ga. 566, 567-568 (2) (642 S.E.2d 34) (2007) (res judicata barred claim that had been raised in a prior appeal which the Court had dismissed as untimely); 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 principle is nevertheless subject to the equally well-established principles of res judicata and the law-of-the-case rule); 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; a defendant is "not entitled to multiple bites at the apple").
Because Stover is not entitled to make multiple challenges to the validity of his sentence by direct appeal, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.