McGee v. State, 301 Ga. 169

McGee pled guilty on January 31, 2001 (January 2001 term, Carroll County) to malice murder, aggravated battery, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the killing of Officer Robbie Bishop.
He was sentenced to life without parole for malice murder, 20 years for aggravated battery, and 5 years for the firearm offense; the non-murder sentences run concurrently with the murder sentence.
In 2014 McGee filed a pro se Motion to Withdraw his Guilty Plea more than 13 years after sentencing; the trial court denied it for lack of jurisdiction because the term of court in which the plea was entered had expired.
McGee sought an out-of-time appeal; this court (McGee I) remanded for a hearing to determine whether counsel or McGee was responsible for any failure to file a timely direct appeal; the trial court later denied the out-of-time appeal request and McGee’s appeal of that denial was dismissed as untimely.
In 2015–2016 McGee filed pro se and then amended pro se motions in arrest of judgment and a notice to withdraw the guilty plea; the trial court denied the consolidated motion in arrest of judgment on March 31, 2016.
McGee appealed the denial, arguing his plea was invalid because he was improperly sentenced on both the malice murder and aggravated battery counts.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether McGee’s plea or judgment could be attacked after the term of court in which the plea/judgment was entered	McGee argued the plea was invalid due to being sentenced on both malice murder and aggravated battery; sought relief via motion in arrest of judgment / withdrawal	State argued McGee’s motions were untimely because both a motion to withdraw a plea and a motion in arrest of judgment must be filed during the same term the plea/judgment was entered	Court held motions were untimely; denied relief for lack of jurisdiction and affirmed trial court

Henderson v. State, 295 Ga. 333 (when the term of court in which a defendant was sentenced pursuant to a guilty plea has expired, the trial court lacks jurisdiction to allow withdrawal of the plea)
Rubiani v. State, 279 Ga. 299 (motion to withdraw plea must be filed during the term of court at which the plea was entered)
Lay v. State, 289 Ga. 210 (motion in arrest of judgment must be made during the term at which the judgment was obtained)
Hagan v. State, 290 Ga. 353 (cited authority regarding timeliness/jurisdictional limits on post-plea challenges)
McGee v. State, 296 Ga. 353 (2014) (remanding to determine responsibility for failure to file timely direct appeal)