Oliver Williams v. State
A18A0702
| Ga. Ct. App. | Dec 4, 2017Background
- Oliver Williams was convicted after a jury trial of multiple offenses, including armed robbery, kidnapping (later reversed), aggravated assault, false imprisonment, possession of a firearm during a crime, and possession of marijuana.
- On direct appeal Williams’s kidnapping convictions were reversed; the other convictions were affirmed (Williams v. State, 304 Ga. App. 787).
- In 2017 Williams filed a motion captioned as a request to reduce/modify his sentence, arguing his armed robbery conviction was void and his sentence should be changed.
- The trial court denied the motion and Williams appealed from that denial.
- The Court of Appeals concluded the motion in substance attacked the conviction, not the sentence, and thus was an improper collateral attack filed outside the statutory window for sentence modification.
- Because Williams sought to challenge his conviction via a motion to modify sentence (rather than via an appropriate post-conviction remedy), the Court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the trial court erred in denying Williams’s motion to reduce/modify his sentence | Williams argued his armed robbery conviction was void and his sentence should be reduced | State argued the motion was a collateral attack on the conviction filed outside the statutory period for sentence modification and thus not cognizable | The appeal is dismissed: the plea was a challenge to the conviction, not to a void sentence, and is not a proper remedy outside the statutory window |
Key Cases Cited
- Williams v. State, 304 Ga. App. 787 (affirming convictions except kidnapping)
- Frazier v. State, 302 Ga. App. 346 (statutory period to modify sentence and limits thereafter)
- Jones v. State, 278 Ga. 669 (sentence is void only if law does not authorize punishment)
- von Thomas v. State, 293 Ga. 569 (motions to vacate a void sentence limited to sentences unauthorized by law)
- Nazario v. State, 293 Ga. 480 (substance controls over caption; challenge to conviction cannot be recast as sentence motion)
- Harper v. State, 286 Ga. 216 (petition to vacate/modify conviction not appropriate remedy; appeal dismissed)
- Roberts v. State, 286 Ga. 532 (same principle rejecting improper collateral attacks)