Eddleman v. State

The defendant was not entitled to move for a new trial after he entered a guilty plea to two counts of aggravated stalking.

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Alan Eddleman pled guilty to two counts of aggravated stalking1 . The trial court accepted the plea, deferred sentencing, and ordered a presentence investigation. The court also ordered a psychological evaluation. Upon completion of these investigations, on December 16, 1999, Eddleman was sentenced to ten years, to serve five in confinement. On January 10, 2000, Eddleman filed a motion for new trial, which was denied after a hearing. This appeal ensued. Eddleman contends the trial court erred in using the presentence investigation to enhance and fix his sentence and that his rights under the Georgia Constitution to due process and to confront witnesses against him were violated because he was not given a copy of the presentence investigation report. We do not reach the merits of Eddleman’s contentions because we find that he had no right to move for a new trial and because he waived the use of the presentence investigation report.

1. Eddleman was not entitled to move for a new trial. Generally, if a defendant enters a guilty plea he cannot move for a new trial, since no verdict was returned. Bowens v. State, 194 Ga. App. 391 1 390 SE2d 634 1990. Had Eddleman’s motion for new trial been filed while the trial court still had jurisdiction, the trial court would have been authorized to treat the motion as one to withdraw the guilty plea. Lawson v. State, 204 Ga. App. 796 1 420 SE2d 600 1992. But a superior court’s jurisdiction to entertain a motion to withdraw a plea ends after the term of court in which the judgment of conviction was rendered. Foskey v. State, 232 Ga. App. 303 501 SE2d 856 1998. And Eddleman’s motion was not filed in the same term of court in which the plea was entered.2 We also note that at the hearing on the motion, Eddleman’s counsel specifically stated that he was not seeking to withdraw the guilty plea and seek a new trial. The trial court did not err in denying the motion for a new trial.

Eddleman v. State

The defendant was not entitled to move for a new trial after he entered a guilty plea to two counts of aggravated stalking.

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