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State v. Hammons

Defendant waived his right to a perfect accusation by failing to challenge the accusation through a special demurrer or motion to quash before pleading guilty.

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James Hammons voluntarily entered a guilty plea to a felony offense, vehicular manslaughter in the first degree, and received a 15-year prison sentence. After serving about nine years of that felony sentence, Hammons sought and obtained misdemeanor punishment. The State then filed this appeal. Because we find that the trial court erred in resentencing Hammons for a misdemeanor offense, we vacate and remand.

On December 12, 1991, Hammons pled guilty to vehicular homicide in the first degree. A sentence review panel affirmed that 15-year sentence. Dissatisfied with his continuing incarceration, Hammons filed unsuccessful pro se motions seeking to withdraw his guilty plea or, in the alternative, to have his sentence modified.1 Despite having entered a guilty plea to vehicular homicide in the first degree, a felony requiring imprisonment for not less than three years nor more than 15 years, Hammons filed a “Motion to Enter Valid Judgment” to seek a misdemeanor sentence. See OCGA § 40-6-393 a. For the first time, Hammons argued that Count 1 of the accusation had charged him with a misdemeanor, so that when he pled guilty to Count 1, he should have received a misdemeanor sentence.

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