Court Opinion

ID: 9909129
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-12 17:03:36.902651+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:50:06.044684
License: Public Domain

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

                                       ATLANTA,____________________
                                                December 12, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A24A0603. MARK PUCKETT v. THE STATE.

      In October 2018, Mark Puckett entered a negotiated guilty plea to trafficking
in methamphetamine, and the trial court sentenced him to 30 years, to serve 15 years
in prison and the remainder on probation. In April 2023, Puckett filed a motion to
modify his sentence, in which he argued that his probated sentence exceeded the
maximum probated sentence allowed under Senate Bill 248. The trial court denied the
motion, and Puckett appeals. We lack jurisdiction.
      Under OCGA § 17-10-1 (f), a trial court may modify a sentence during the year
after its imposition or within 120 days after remittitur following a direct appeal,
whichever is later. Frazier v. State, 302 Ga. App. 346, 347-348 (691 SE2d 247)
(2010); Burg v. State, 297 Ga. App. 118, 118 (676 SE2d 465) (2009). Once this
statutory period expires, as it had here when Puckett filed his motion, a trial court
may modify a sentence only if it is void. Jones v. State, 278 Ga. 669, 670 (604 SE2d
483) (2004). And a sentence is void only when the trial court imposes punishment
that the law does not allow. Id. “Motions to vacate a void sentence generally are
limited to claims that — even assuming the existence and validity of the conviction
for which the sentence was imposed — the law does not authorize that sentence, most
typically because it exceeds the most severe punishment for which the applicable
penal statute provides.” von Thomas v. State, 293 Ga. 569, 572 (2) (748 SE2d 446)
(2013). A direct appeal does not lie from the denial of a motion to vacate a void
sentence filed outside the statutory time period unless the motion raises a colorable
claim that the sentence is, in fact, void. Frazier, 302 Ga. App. at 348.
       Here, Puckett has failed to raise a colorable claim that his sentence is void.
Senate Bill 248, considered as a part of the 2021-2022 Legislative Session, would
have      limited      probation        periods          to     60      months.          See
https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/60049 (visited Nov. 17, 2023). But Senate Bill
248 was never enacted. Id. Accordingly, it cannot serve as a basis for a void-sentence
claim. Furthermore, trafficking in methamphetamine is punishable by a mandatory
minimum of ten years in prison and up to thirty years in prison. OCGA § 16-13-31
(e), (h); see OCGA § 17-10-1 (a) (1) (A) (authorizing trial court judge to probate “any
part” of defendant’s sentence). Accordingly, Puckett’s sentence of 30 years, to serve
15, is not void.
       For these reasons, Puckett has failed to raise a colorable void-sentence claim,
and this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

                                        Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
                                               Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
                                                                         12/12/2023
                                               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.