This case concerns Lisa Harrelson’s plea of guilty to the offense of driving while under the influence of alcohol. On July 28, 2007, Harrelson was found slumped over the wheel of her vehicle at an intersection with the engine running and in gear. The arresting officer reported that Harrelson was under the influence of a narcotic analgesic and a central nervous system stimulant, and she was cited for driving under the influence of drugs. See OCGA § 40-6-391 a 2. However, the accusation filed against Harrelson on July 30, 2007, as well as the guilty plea Harrelson entered on that date after waiving her right to counsel at an unrecorded proceeding, charged her with the offense of driving under the influence of alcohol. See OCGA § 40-6-391 a 1. She was sentenced in the State Court of Richmond County to a term of twelve months, with one day in confinement and the remainder on probation, and was ordered to pay various fines and probation-related fees. Harrelson’s September 17, 2007 motion to withdraw her guilty plea was denied on September 26, 2007 because it was filed outside the term of court in which the sentence was imposed. See Smith v. State , 283 Ga. 376 659 SE2d 380 2008; OCGA § 15-6-3 5 c. The trial court entered an order the same day, nunc pro tunc to July 30, 2007, purporting to correct the accusation and sentence to reflect that Harrelson was charged with and convicted of driving under the influence of drugs rather than alcohol.
On February 18, 2008, Harrelson filed a petition in the Superior Court of Richmond County seeking habeas corpus relief and challenging the constitutionality of OCGA § 15-21A-6 c, which sets forth a waivable fifty dollar application fee for indigent defense services, and OCGA § 42-8-100 g 1, which authorizes the use of private organizations to administer probation services for misdemeanor offenders. Named as respondents were Harold Vernon Jones II, in his official capacity as Solicitor of the Richmond County State Court “Jones”, and Sentinel Offender Services, LLC “Sentinel”, the private company administering Harrelson’s probation pursuant to its contract with the Richmond County State Court. The superior court entered a default judgment against Sentinel on October 2, 2008 for failure to respond to the petition; Sentinel was ordered to return the funds paid by Harrelson and enjoined from collecting any additional amounts from her.
