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Hester v. State

The trial court properly sentenced defendant as a recidivist based on his four prior felony convictions.

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A Whitfield County jury found Eddie Weston Hester guilty of possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute, OCGA § 16-13-30. The trial court sentenced Hester to ten years imprisonment as a recidivist under OCGA § 17-10-7 c. Hester appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial, contending the trial court erred in sentencing him as a habitual felon because the State failed to carry its burden of proving that two of Hester’s four prior convictions were the result of knowing and voluntary guilty pleas. For the following reasons, we affirm.

Contrary to Hester’s assertion, “the burden in non-death penalty cases is on the recidivism defendant rather than the State to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that a previous guilty plea was not knowingly and voluntarily entered.” Footnote omitted. Nash v. State, 271 Ga. 281 519 SE2d 893 1999. In this case, the State presented documentary evidence establishing that Hester had, in fact, entered guilty pleas to the contested felony drug charges. Hester failed to come forward with evidence sufficient to challenge the validity of either plea. Consequently, the court sentenced Hester as a recidivist. This procedure is consonant with the Supreme Court’s rule which requires “the defendant to produce evidence of invalidity once the fact of conviction is proved.” Citations and punctuation omitted. Id. at 284. We find no error.

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