Rhodes v. State

• Decision Date: 20 January 2015
• Docket Number: No. S14A1522.,S14A1522.
• Citation: 296 Ga. 418,768 S.E.2d 445
• Parties: RHODES v. The STATE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

296 Ga. 418
768 S.E.2d 445

RHODES
v.
The STATE.

No. S14A1522.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

Jan. 20, 2015.

768 S.E.2d 446

Ron Christopher Rhodes, Pelham, pro se.

Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Dep. Atty. Gen., Paula Khristian Smith, Senior Asst. Atty. Gen., Samuel S. Olens, Attorney General, Ryan A. Kolb, Asst. Atty. Gen., Atlanta, Karl David Cooke, Jr., Dist. Atty., Dorothy Vinson Hull, Asst. Dist. Atty., Macon, for appellee.

Opinion

THOMPSON, Chief Justice.

296 Ga. 418

Appellant Ron Rhodes appeals from the trial court's order denying multiple motions he filed following entry of his guilty plea. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

On March 6, 2000, appellant, who had been indicted in connection with the shooting death of a Bibb County convenience store clerk, pled guilty but mentally retarded to charges of malice murder and armed robbery in exchange for the State's agreement not to pursue the death penalty against him. On March 14, 2000, the trial court sentenced appellant on these charges to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment. More than thirteen years later, in July 2013 and January 2014, appellant filed numerous motions in the trial court

296 Ga. 419

seeking, among other things, to withdraw his guilty plea, an out-of-time appeal, appointment of counsel, and reversal of his convictions. The trial court, without holding an evidentiary hearing, denied all of appellant's motions and appellant filed this direct appeal. See

768 S.E.2d 447

Simmons v. State, 276 Ga. 525, 525 n. 2, 579 S.E.2d 735 (2003) (denial of motion for out-of-time appeal is directly appealable where conviction has not been subject of direct appeal).

1. Regardless of the nomenclature used, the majority of appellant's motions seek either to withdraw his guilty plea or to substantively challenge his convictions through an out-of-time appeal.¹ A trial court's authority to grant a motion to withdraw a guilty plea ends after expiration of the term of court during which a plea is entered, however, and appellant's motion, filed thirteen years after entry of his plea, was filed too late to give the trial court any authority to allow the withdrawal of appellant's guilty plea.² See Brown v. State, 280 Ga. 658, 658, 631 S.E.2d 687 (2006). See also Dupree v. State, 279 Ga. 613, 619 S.E.2d 608 (2005). Accordingly, the trial court's denial of appellant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea and all other motions in which he sought the withdrawal of his plea are affirmed. It follows that appellant was not entitled to the appointment of counsel to assist with his untimely filed motion. See Pierce v. State, 289 Ga. 893, 894, 717 S.E.2d 202 (2011).

2. With regard to appellant's requests for an out-of-time appeal, appellant asserts he is entitled to an out-of-time appeal both because his guilty plea was not made freely and voluntarily and because he received ineffective assistance of counsel. We agree with the trial court's denial of these motions.

As recently stated by this Court, an out-of-time appeal is intended to address the constitutional concerns that arise when a defendant is

296 Ga. 420

denied his first appeal because the counsel to which he was constitutionally entitled rendered ineffective assistance by failing to advise him of his right to appeal and counsel's deficiency resulted in prejudice. See Stephens v. State, 291 Ga. 837, 837–838, 733 S.E.2d 266 (2012). Thus, an out-of-time appeal is available when a direct appeal was not taken due to ineffective assistance of counsel. See id. When a conviction is entered based on a plea of guilty, a direct appeal is available only “if the issue on appeal can be resolved by reference to facts on the record.” Id. at 838, 733...