Antavious Parks v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ December 06, 2018

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A19A0733. ANTAVIOUS PARKS v. THE STATE.

A jury convicted Antavious Parks of armed robbery, and he was sentenced as a recidivist to life imprisonment. We affirmed his conviction on appeal. Parks v. State, 257 Ga. App. 25 (570 SE2d 350) (2002). Since then, Parks has filed multiple pro se motions, including a January 2018 “Motion to Vacate Void/Illegal Sentence,” in which he argued that he was incorrectly sentenced as a recidivist. The trial court denied the motion and Parks filed this appeal. We, however, lack jurisdiction. Parks previously has raised the same void-sentence claim. See Case No. A17A1481 (dismissed June 29, 2017). As we explained in our previous dismissal order, even assuming that Parks was improperly sentenced as a recidivist, as he alleges, a trial court may sentence a defendant to life imprisonment for armed robbery regardless of whether the defendant is deemed a recidivist. See OCGA § 16-8-41 (b) (available sentences for armed robbery include “imprisonment for life”). Accordingly, Parks’s sentence is not more severe than the law allows, and it is not void. See Brown v. State, 295 Ga. App. 66, 67-68 (670 SE2d 867) (2008). Moreover, “[i]t is axiomatic that the same issue cannot be relitigated ad infinitum.” Echols v. State, 243 Ga. App. 775, 776 (534 SE2d 464) (2000). In light of Parks’s previous appeal, we are precluded from revisiting the issue. See Paradise v. State, 321 Ga. App. 371, 373 (740 SE2d 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.”) (citation and punctuation omitted); Ross v. State, 310 Ga. App. 326, 328 (713 SE2d 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”). For the reasons stated above, Parks’s appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 12/06/2018 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.