Sessions v. State, 293 Ga. 33

On December 10, 1997 a jury found Sessions guilty on multiple counts including murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm, armed robbery, and obstruction of an officer; the State sought the death penalty but no death verdict was returned.
On December 12, 1997 the trial court sentenced Sessions to life without parole, two life sentences with parole, and terms for other felonies; Sessions did not file a motion for new trial or a notice of appeal.
On June 23, 1998 Sessions filed a pro se motion labeled “Application for Out of Time Motion for New Trial,” which the trial court treated as an extraordinary motion and denied on February 10, 1999.
Meanwhile, on November 10, 1998 Sessions, through counsel, filed a habeas corpus petition alleging denial of the right to appeal due to trial counsel’s failure to file an appeal; a habeas hearing was held October 21, 1999.
The habeas court ultimately found Sessions forfeited the right to appeal due to inaction; the habeas court’s July 31, 2000 order denying relief was upheld by this Court in dismissal of the appeal; in 2010 Sessions filed the current motion for an out-of-time appeal, which the trial court denied, finding waiver by Sessions’ conduct after conviction.
The appellate court affirmed, applying Simmons and collateral estoppel, and held there is no constitutional right to appellate review; the defense failed to show the loss of direct appeal was caused by counsel’s error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Sessions lost the right to a direct appeal due to counsel’s inaction	Sessions argues trial counsel’s inaction deprived him of a direct appeal	State contends Sessions forfeited his appeal rights through his own conduct and inaction	Yes; loss was attributed to Sessions’ conduct, denying out-of-time relief
Whether collateral estoppel prevents re-litigation of ineffective assistance of counsel	Sessions seeks to relitigate ineffectiveness claims from habeas	Habeas findings adverse to Sessions preclude relitigation	Yes; collateral estoppel applies to bar merits review
Whether there is a constitutional right to appellate review and its effect on out-of-time appeals	Out-of-time appeal is a remedy for frustrated right to appeal	Constitution provides no guaranteed right to appeal; statute governs	No constitutional right to appeal; out-of-time appeal denied
Whether the Simmons v. State standard governs out-of-time appeal relief	Simmons supports relief if counsel error caused loss of appeal	Simmons supports denial if movant’s conduct caused loss	Simmons standard satisfied; relief denied due to movant’s conduct

Simmons v. State, 276 Ga. 525; 579 S.E.2d 735 (Ga. 2003) (out-of-time appeal granted only if loss caused by counsel error)
Halbert v. Michigan, 545 U.S. 605 (U.S. 2005) (no constitutional right to an appeal)
Thomas v. State, 260 Ga. 262; 392 S.E.2d 520 (Ga. 1990) (reiterates lack of constitutional right to appeal)
Henderson v. State, 265 Ga. 317; 454 S.E.2d 458 (Ga. 1995) (informing right to appeal; forfeiture by inaction)
Hunter v. State, 260 Ga. 762; 399 S.E.2d 921 (Ga. 1991) (collateral estoppel considerations in collateral post-conviction)