James William Hood v. State, A19A0952

In April 2011, James William Hood pleaded guilty pursuant to a negotiated plea to statutory rape and child molestation; the court sentenced him to a split sentence (20 years total: 10 years incarceration + probation for statutory rape, and 15 years probation consecutive for child molestation).
Hood later moved to vacate his child molestation sentence, arguing it violated the split-sentence requirement of former OCGA § 17-10-6.2(b).
This Court previously vacated Hood’s child molestation sentence as void for failing to comply with the split-sentence statute.
After vacatur, Hood moved to withdraw his guilty plea under former OCGA § 17-7-93(b) before resentencing; the State conceded the statutory issue in the trial court.
The trial court denied Hood’s motion to withdraw his plea, finding the plea voluntary and negotiated and concluding Hood had waived the right to withdraw.
On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed, holding that because the child molestation sentence was void, Hood had an absolute right to withdraw his guilty plea before resentencing.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Hood could withdraw his guilty plea before resentencing after his child molestation sentence was vacated as void	Hood: a defendant has an absolute statutory right under OCGA § 17-7-93(b) to withdraw a guilty plea before judgment is pronounced or, here, before resentencing when the prior sentence is void	State/trial court: plea was knowingly and voluntarily entered as part of a negotiated agreement and Hood waived the right to withdraw it	Court: Reversed — because the sentence was void, Hood stood as if not yet sentenced and therefore had an absolute right to withdraw his plea before resentencing

Hood v. State, 343 Ga. App. 230 (2017) (prior appellate decision vacating Hood’s child molestation sentence)
Franks v. State, 323 Ga. App. 813 (2013) (void sentence treated as no sentence; defendant may withdraw plea before resentencing)
Royals v. State, 327 Ga. App. 337 (2014) (same principle: void sentence restores defendant’s pre-sentencing rights)