Daniel Jordan v. State, A18A0474

Daniel Jordan was convicted in 2010 of rape, two counts of aggravated child molestation, and two counts of child molestation; the trial court sentenced him to 50 years imprisonment followed by life on probation.
This Court affirmed Jordan’s convictions on direct appeal in 2012; remittitur issued the same year.
In 2017 Jordan filed a motion to vacate a void sentence arguing the trial court failed to exercise discretion to impose lower sentences and asserting he was not eligible for a life sentence for rape.
The trial court denied the 2017 motion to vacate, and Jordan filed the present notice of appeal seeking review of both the 2010 conviction and the denial of the motion.
The Court of Appeals concluded it lacked jurisdiction and dismissed the appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Timeliness / res judicata of second appeal of 2010 conviction	Jordan sought appellate review of the 2010 conviction despite prior affirmance and remittitur	State argued appeal is untimely and barred by res judicata	Dismissed: second appeal untimely and res judicata bars relitigation
Jurisdiction over motion to vacate void sentence	Jordan claimed sentence should be modified because trial court failed to exercise discretion; asserted ineligibility for life sentence	State argued Jordan raised no colorable void-sentence claim because sentences were within statutory ranges	Dismissed: no colorable void-sentence claim; court lacks jurisdiction

Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872 (res judicata and timely notice of appeal required for jurisdiction)
Ward v. State, 299 Ga. App. 63 (direct appeal determination is res judicata)
Harper v. State, 286 Ga. 216 (appeal from denial of void-sentence motion requires a colorable void claim)
von Thomas v. State, 293 Ga. 569 (void-sentence motions limited to sentences unauthorized by law)
Jones v. State, 278 Ga. 669 (sentence within statutory range is not void)
Jordan v. State, 317 Ga. App. 160 (prior affirmance of convictions)