345 Ga. App. 562
Ga. Ct. App.2018Background
- In August 2017 Damon Mays pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, misdemeanor family-violence battery, and third-degree cruelty to children under a negotiated plea and was granted first-offender treatment under OCGA § 42-8-60.
- Under the plea Mays was placed on ten years probation; he acknowledged that, if he completed probation successfully, he would not be adjudicated guilty or be a convicted felon.
- Immediately after sentencing Mays asked the court to include a behavioral-incentive date pursuant to OCGA § 17-10-1(a)(1)(B) (an incentive date not to exceed three years after sentence imposition).
- The trial court declined to include a behavioral-incentive date, reasoning that the statute applies only when a defendant is "convicted of felony offenses," and a first-offender plea does not constitute a conviction.
- Mays appealed, arguing the court erred by not including the behavioral-incentive date; the appellate court reviewed the statutory interpretation de novo.
- The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding the plain language of OCGA § 17-10-1(a)(1)(B) requires a conviction and therefore does not apply to first-offender sentences where no conviction occurs unless probation is revoked.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether OCGA § 17-10-1(a)(1)(B) required the trial court to include a behavioral-incentive date in Mays’s first-offender probation sentence | Mays: statute should apply to defendants sentenced to probation even if given first-offender treatment; legislative intent was to incentivize good behavior on probation | State/Trial court: statute applies only "when a defendant is convicted of felony offenses"; a first-offender plea is not a conviction, so statute does not apply | Court held statute’s plain language requires a conviction; first-offender status is not a conviction, so no behavioral-incentive date was required |
Key Cases Cited
- Williams v. State, 301 Ga. 829 (first-offender plea does not constitute a conviction)
- Davis v. State, 273 Ga. 14 (first-offender plea is not a conviction for statutory purposes)
- Few v. State, 311 Ga. App. 608 (sentence void if punishment not authorized by law)
- Holcomb v. Long, 329 Ga. App. 515 (canons of statutory construction; plain meaning rule)
- Deal v. Coleman, 294 Ga. 170 (statutory text must be read in context; plain text controls)
- Allen v. Wright, 282 Ga. 9 (separation of powers limits courts from rewriting statutes)
- Cook v. State, 338 Ga. App. 489 (under first-offender statute there is no conviction unless adjudication entered)