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Land v. State

The trial court properly considered all three of the defendant's prior felony convictions for purposes of recidivist sentencing.

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Following the entry of a negotiated guilty plea, Jeffrey Lynn Land filed a pro se Motion to Correct an Illegal Sentence, contending that he had been improperly sentenced as a recidivist. The trial court denied Land’s motion and Land appeals. We discern no error and affirm. Land entered a negotiated guilty plea to three counts of sale of methamphetamine, attempt to traffick in methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, obstruction of an officer, use of a communication facility to violate the Georgia Controlled Substances Act, and conspiracy to sell methamphetamine. The state had given Land notice of its intent to seek recidivist punishment and at the guilty plea hearing, tendered three of Land’s prior felony convictions. The trial court then sentenced Land as a recidivist under OCGA § 17-10-7 c1 to 15 years with 7 years to be served in confinement,2 in accordance with the parties’ agreement.

Land contends that his third prior conviction was not final at the time the sentence was imposed in this case and that the trial court therefore erred in considering it when imposing recidivist punishment. It is true that a prior conviction must be final before it can be considered for purposes of imposing recidivist sentencing. See Mitchell v. State , 202 Ga. App. 100, 101 2 413 SE2d 517 1991. A conviction is deemed final for purposes of imposing recidivist punishment when the defendant has been adjudicated guilty and has been sentenced, and when no appeal on the prior charges remains pending. See Sutton v. State , 263 Ga. App. 188, 190 1, fn. 5 587 SE2d 379 2003; Dunn v. State , 208 Ga. App. 197, 198 4 430 SE2d 50 1993.

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