Case Name: FELDER v. THE STATE; WARD v. THE STATE
Court: Supreme Court of Georgia
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Decision Date: 2002-03-11
Citations: 274 Ga. 870
Docket Number: S02A0540; S02A0600
Parties: FELDER v. THE STATE. WARD v. THE STATE.
Judges: All the Justices concur.
Reporter: Georgia Reports
Volume: 274
Pages: 870–871

Head Matter:
S02A0540.
S02A0600.
FELDER v. THE STATE. WARD v. THE STATE.
(561 SE2d 88)

Opinion:
Hunstein, Justice.
Lorenzo Felder was convicted in Crisp County in March 1998 of felony murder based upon the underlying felony of armed robbery. We affirmed his conviction in Felder v. State, 270 Ga. 641 (514 SE2d 416) (1999). John Coy Ward was convicted in Butts County in September 1998 of felony murder based upon the underlying felony of aggravated assault. We affirmed his conviction in Ward v. State, 271 Ga. 648 (520 SE2d 205) (1999). In November 2001, while both men were incarcerated in Ware County, they each filed motions to "Hold Void Judgments Mere Nullity and to Expunge Such Void and Null Judgments" in the counties where they had been convicted. Looking at the substance of the motions rather than their nomenclature, the motions did not seek to vacate a void sentence, see OCGA § 17-9-4, but rather constituted improper attempts by Felder and Ward to obtain a second appeal from their convictions. Since the challenged judgments were not, in fact, void, we accordingly find no error in the trial courts' denial of the motions.
Decided March 11, 2002.
Case No. S02A0540
Lorenzo C. Felder, pro se.
Denise D. Fachini, District Attorney, Cheri L. Nichols, Assistant District Attorney, Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General, for appellee.
Case No. S02A0600
John C. Ward, pro se.
Richard G. Milam, District Attorney, for appellee.
Judgments affirmed.
All the Justices concur.