Opinion
A22A0278
10-14-2021
ARTHUR SHERMAINE BUSSEY v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In 2002, Arthur Shermaine Bussey pled guilty to burglary and theft by receiving. In 2019, Bussey filed a motion challenging the validity of his arrest warrant. The trial court denied the motion twice, and this Court dismissed Bussey's direct appeals of those two rulings. See Case Nos. A19A2089 (dismissed Oct. 17, 2019) & A20A1652 (dismissed June 3, 2020). This Court explained in its dismissal orders that Bussey's motion was in substance a challenge to the validity of his conviction, but a motion seeking to challenge an allegedly invalid or void judgment of conviction is not one of the established procedures for challenging the validity of a judgment in a criminal case, and an appeal from the denial of such a motion is subject to dismissal. See Roberts v. State, 286 Ga. 532, 532 (690 S.E.2d 150) (2010); Harper v. State, 286 Ga. 216, 218 (1) (686 S.E.2d 786) (2009).
In 2020, Bussey filed yet another motion challenging the validity of his arrest warrant. The trial court denied the motion, and Bussey filed an application for discretionary review and a notice of appeal. We dismissed his application for lack of jurisdiction for the reasons set forth in this Court's prior dismissal orders in this case. See Case No. A21D0168 (dismissed Jan. 14, 2021). Bussey's motion is an improper challenge to the validity of his conviction, and an appeal from the denial of such a motion is subject to dismissal. See Roberts, 286 Ga. at 532; Harper, 286 Ga. at 218 (1). The dismissal of Bussey's discretionary application constitutes an adjudication on the merits, and thus the doctrine of res judicata also bars his current attempt to challenge his conviction. See Hook v. Bergen, 286 Ga.App. 258, 260-261 (1) (649 S.E.2d 313) (2007). See also Echols v. State, 243 Ga.App. 775, 776 (534 S.E.2d 464) (2000) ("It is axiomatic that the same issue cannot be relitigated ad infinitum."). For these reasons, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.