Desmond D. Daniels v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ November 14, 2024

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A25A0621. DESMOND D. DANIELS v. THE STATE.

In 2021, a jury found Desmond D. Daniels guilty of multiple counts of identity fraud and other crimes. In July 2024, Daniels filed a pro se motion to vacate a void sentence and judgment, arguing that venue and jurisdiction were improper in the county in which he was tried. The trial court dismissed the motion and Daniels appealed. This Court dismissed Daniels’s appeal as untimely and because he failed to raise a colorable claim that his sentence was void. See Case No. A25A0322 (decided September 16, 2024). A week later, Daniels filed another pro se motion seeking to vacate his sentence, once again arguing that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to enter his convictions or sentence. The trial court dismissed the motion and Daniels filed this appeal. However, Daniels’s appeal is barred as a matter of law. “It is axiomatic that the same issue cannot be relitigated ad infinitum.” Echols v. State, 243 Ga. App. 775, 776 (534 SE2d 464) (2000). Thus, Daniels “cannot re-litigate here the same issues that were dismissed in his prior appeals.” Howard v. State, 289 Ga. 207, 207 (1) (710 SE2d 761) (2011); see also Paradise v. State, 321 Ga. App. 371, 373 (740 SE2d 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 SE2d 438) (2011) (a void sentence is subject to res judicata and the law-of-the-case rule, and a defendant is “not entitled to multiple bites at the apple”).

Because Daniels raised this same issue in a prior appeal, this appeal is barred. Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 11/14/2024 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.