Charlie Lee Smith v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ June 27, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A23A1596. CHARLIE LEE SMITH v. THE STATE.

In 2007, Charlie Lee Smith pled guilty to aggravated child molestation and enticing a child for indecent purposes, and was sentenced to life plus 25 years. In April 2013, the Georgia Supreme Court denied Smith’s application for a certificate of probable cause to appeal the denial of habeas corpus relief. Case No. S13H0379 (Apr. 15, 2013). Smith then filed a “Motion for Justice” in November 2013, in which he raised a number of challenges to his conviction. The trial court denied the motion, and this Court affirmed. Case No. A14A2121 (Feb. 20, 2015). In May 2019, Smith filed a “Motion for Relief,” again challenging his conviction. The trial court denied the motion, and this Court dismissed Smith’s appeal of that ruling on the basis that its decision in Case No. A14A2121 acted as res judicata as to his challenges to his conviction. Case No. A20A0176 (Sept. 4, 2019). In October 2022, Smith filed a “Motion to Correct a Wrongful Conviction,” in which he again raised a number of challenges to his conviction. The trial court denied the motion, and Smith filed the instant appeal. We lack jurisdiction for two reasons. First, to the extent Smith’s challenges were raised in his prior “Motion for Justice” and “Motion for Relief,” our decisions in Case Nos. A14A2121 and A20A0176 act as res judicata, and Smith is barred from seeking further judicial review of those challenges. See Jordan v. State, 253 Ga. App. 510, 511-512 (2) (559 SE2d 528) (2002); Echols v. State, 243 Ga. App. 775, 775-776 (534 SE2d 464) (2000). Second, a motion seeking to vacate or set aside an allegedly void conviction is not one of the established procedures for challenging the validity of a judgment in a criminal case, and an appeal from the trial court’s ruling on such

a motion should be dismissed. Roberts v. State, 286 Ga. 532, 532 (690 SE2d 150) (2010); Harper v. State, 286 Ga. 216, 218 (2) (686 SE2d 786) (2009). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 06/27/2023 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.