The Fourth DCA holds that a trial court lacks jurisdiction to rule on a Rule 3.850 postconviction motion filed before resentencing is complete, as finality for 3.850 purposes occurs only after resentencing.
The First District held that imposing consecutive sentences on two firearm specifications was erroneous where the underlying felonies arose from the same act or transaction, but found no plain error because the defendant received an agreed sentence and failed to object below.
The Fifth District reversed and remanded for resentencing, holding that aggravated vehicular assault (OVI-based) and vehicular assault (recklessness-based) are allied offenses of similar import that must merge under R.C. 2941.25 when committed against the same victim.
The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of a motion to suppress, holding that exigent circumstances justified the warrantless seizure of a computer suspected of containing child sexual exploitation material where the defendant repeatedly entered and exited his room under the guise of searching for a hard drive.
The Fifth District affirmed the juvenile court’s decision to transfer jurisdiction of a 16-year-old charged with aggravated robbery and felonious assault to adult court, finding the amenability determination was supported by competent, credible evidence.
The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer of a juvenile murder case to juvenile court, holding that the State’s ex parte 90-day extension of the 180-day indictment deadline under OCGA section 17-7-50.1(a) was invalid because the State failed to provide notice, hold a hearing, or demonstrate good cause as the statute requires.
The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed armed robbery convictions, holding that a witness’s text messages to law enforcement were admissible as identification statements, booking photos showing tattoos were properly admitted to prove identity, and trial counsel was not ineffective.
The Twelfth District held that grand theft of a motor vehicle and attempted grand theft of a firearm found in the vehicle’s glove box are not allied offenses requiring merger, because the defendant’s act of removing the gun from the car and keeping it in her bedroom reflected a separate animus.
The Eleventh District affirmed an OVI conviction following a guilty plea, holding that Crim.R. 11(E) for petty offenses requires only that the defendant be told a guilty plea is a complete admission of guilt, not the full constitutional rights colloquy required for serious offenses.
The First District affirmed a $387 restitution order in a criminal damaging case where the crime victim, invoking Marsy’s Law rights, challenged the amount but failed to file a trial transcript, requiring the court to presume regularity of the proceedings.
The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed drug and firearm convictions, holding that a free-air dog sniff conducted while a traffic citation was still being prepared did not unlawfully prolong the stop under the Fourth Amendment.
The Ninth District reversed a contempt finding, holding that community control violations in misdemeanor cases cannot be prosecuted as criminal contempt under R.C. 2929.25 and that the trial court lacked authority after community control expired.
The Georgia Court of Appeals dismissed Quentin Hill’s appeal from the denial of his motion for leave to file an out-of-time motion for new trial, holding it lacked jurisdiction because Hill had already had a direct appeal and did not qualify for relief under the newly enacted OCGA § 5-6-39.1.
The Fifth District vacated a guilty plea to criminal mischief, holding that the trial court completely failed to inform the defendant that a guilty plea is a complete admission of guilt as required by Crim.R. 11(E), making a prejudice showing unnecessary.
The Third District affirmed a conviction under R.C. 4511.204, Ohio’s distracted driving statute, rejecting constitutional challenges based on equal protection, due process, and vagueness, and holding that holding a phone for GPS navigation while driving violates the statute.
The Eleventh District reversed and remanded for resentencing, holding that the trial court violated the defendant’s right of allocution by repeatedly interrupting her personal statement and preventing her from reading it herself, particularly where the court then penalized her perceived lack of remorse.
The Twelfth District reversed a murder sentence that included ‘lifetime parole supervision,’ holding that no Ohio statute authorizes a trial court to impose such a condition and clarifying the distinction between imposing parole terms and notifying defendants of parole eligibility.
The Twelfth District reversed the trial court’s denial of a noncitizen defendant’s motion to withdraw his no-contest plea, holding that the court was required to apply the Strickland two-prong test when the motion was premised on counsel’s failure to advise of immigration consequences under Padilla v. Kentucky.
The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s denial of a defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty pleas, finding that plea counsel adequately informed him of recidivist sentencing consequences and parole ineligibility.