Beasley v. State, S15A0930.
| Decision Date | 02 November 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. S15A0930.,S15A0930. |
| Citation | 298 Ga. 49,779 S.E.2d 301 |
| Parties | BEASLEY v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
John David Beasley, Valdosta, for appellant.
Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Deputy Atty. Gen., Paula Khristian Smith, Sr. Asst. Atty. Gen., Samuel S. Olens, Atty. Gen., Department of Law, Daniel J. Porter, Dist. Atty., Vikki Morek Clark, Asst. Dist. Atty., Christopher Michael Quinn, Sr. Asst. Dist. Atty., Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office, for appellee.
John David Beasley files this pro se appeal from the denial of his amended motion for an out-of-time appeal following the entry of guilty pleas for felony murder and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
On May 12, 2004, a Gwinnett County grand jury indicted Beasley for malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault, burglary, and two counts of possession of a knife during the commission of a crime, all in connection with the death of Beasley's former girlfriend, Sylvia Saye. On September 30, 2004, his appointed attorney, Raymon Burns, filed a "Petition for Psychiatric Evaluation," which the trial court granted; the evaluation found Beasley competent to stand trial and to be held criminally responsible for his actions. At Beasley's request, Burns was replaced by Robert Greenwald as his appointed attorney. On September 18, 2006, Beasley entered negotiated guilty pleas to felony murder (Count II) and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime (Count VI).
Among Beasley's many post-conviction court filings, on March 6, 2009, he filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, contending, inter alia, that: 1) he did not receive effective assistance of counsel; 2) his pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily entered as he was not informed that intent was an element of the crimes to which he pled guilty; and, 3) the trial court erred in entering an order of nolle prosequi to the aggravated assault count, and then accepting his guilty plea in a felony murder count predicated on the act of aggravated assault. The habeas court denied the petition on October 15, 2013, and Beasley's application for a certificate of probable cause to appeal was dismissed by this Court on June 30, 2014 because it was not timely filed; his motion to reconsider that dismissal was denied on July 28, 2014.
Beasley's post-conviction court filings also include, in the trial court, a March 24, 2014 "Motion to Withdraw Guilty Plea"; on April 30, 2014, the trial court denied this motion. On October 7, 2014, Beasley filed a "Motion for Out of Time Appeal," and on October 22, 2014, a "Motion for Appointment of Counsel"; he then amended his "Motion for Out of Time Appeal," and filed another "Motion for Appointment of Counsel." The trial court denied his amended motion for an out-of-time appeal, and he now appeals from that order.
Beasley contends that: 1) his trial counsel was ineffective; 2) his pleas were not voluntary because he was not informed that intent was an element of the crimes to which he pled; 3) the trial court erred in entering an order of nolle prosequi to the aggravated assault count, and then accepting his guilty plea in a felony murder count predicated on the act of aggravated assault; and, 4) the trial court should have, sua sponte, inquired into his competency before accepting his pleas. With the exception of the claim that the trial court should have sua sponte inquired into his competency, Beasley raised these same grounds of alleged trial court error in his prior petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The habeas court denied his request for relief, which precludes consideration of all of these issues now under the doctrine of res judicata.
Three prerequisites must be satisfied before res judicata applies—(1) identity of the cause of action, (2)...
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Brooks v. State
...are identical and the claim was previously adjudicated on the merits by a court of competent jurisdiction. See Beasley v. State, 298 Ga. 49, 50, 779 S.E.2d 301 (2015). Here, on at least one occasion prior to Brooks's September 2016 motion for an out-of-time appeal of his convictions, Brooks......
- Twitty v. State
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Snelson v. State
...by the trial court in 2009 and were not appealed; accordingly, res judicata precludes review of these enumerations. Beasley v. State, 298 Ga. 49, 51, 779 S.E.2d 301 (2015). While the trial court did not cite res judicata in its 2017 order denying Snelson’s motion for an out-of-time appeal, ......
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Davis v. State
...that the convict is collaterally estopped from pursuing those grounds in his effort to obtain post-conviction relief. Beasley v. State , 298 Ga. 49, 50, 779 S.E.2d 301 (2015). Furthermore, "the doctrine of res judicata precludes not only re-litigation of claims that were actually adjudicate......