Tony Lord v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

August 23, 2012 ATLANTA,_________________

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A12A2477. TONY LORD v. THE STATE.

Tony Lord was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault, and his convictions were affirmed on appeal. See Lord v. State, 297 Ga. App. 88 (676 SE2d 404) (2009). In our opinion affirming Lord’s convictions, we explicitly rejected his argument that the convictions should have been merged. Lord subsequently filed a pro se “Motion to Vacate Sentence as Void,” followed by a “First Amendment of Motion to Vacate Sentence as Void.” In these filings, Lord again argued that his convictions should have been merged. The trial court denied the motion, and Lord filed this appeal. A direct appeal may lie from an order denying a motion to correct a void sentence if the defendant raises a colorable claim that the sentence is, in fact, void or illegal. See Harper v. State, 286 Ga. 216 n.1 (686 SE2d 786) (2009); Burg v. State, 297 Ga. App. 118, 119 (676 SE2d 465) (2009). Lord’s merger argument, however, is a challenge to his convictions, not to his sentence. See Williams v. State, 287 Ga. 192 (695 SE2d 244) (2010). Because he has not raised a valid void-sentence claim, Lord’s appeal is subject to dismissal. See Roberts v. State, 286 Ga. 532 (690 SE2d 150) (2010); Harper, supra. Moreover, because we have previously ruled on the very issue presented in this appeal, relitigation of that issue is barred by the doctrine of res judicata. See Daniels v. State, 244 Ga. App. 522, 523 n. 6 (536 SE2d 206) (2000); Stirling v. State, 199 Ga. App. 877 (406 SE2d 282) (1991). For these reasons, Lord’s appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 08/23/2012 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.