Summary
The Supreme Court of Georgia held that granting an out-of-time appeal does not authorize a defendant to file an otherwise untimely motion to withdraw a guilty plea. The court affirmed the denial of Rebecca Dawn Schoicket’s motion for leave to pursue that relief, explaining that her remedy, if any, was habeas corpus. The court vacated her sentence for tampering with evidence because the offense was a misdemeanor when the evidence involved her own crime, and remanded for resentencing on that count.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the grant of an out-of-time appeal authorizes a defendant who pleaded guilty to file an otherwise untimely motion to withdraw the guilty plea.
- Whether Schoicket's 10-year sentence for tampering with evidence was legally authorized when the evidence involved her own crime.
Holdings
- A granted motion for an out-of-time appeal does not confer a right to file an otherwise untimely motion to withdraw a guilty plea. After the term of court in which the conviction was entered has expired, a defendant seeking to withdraw a guilty plea must pursue relief through habeas corpus.
- A person who tampers with evidence of her own crime is guilty only of a misdemeanor and may not receive a felony sentence for that conduct. Schoicket's 10-year sentence on Count 7 was therefore erroneous.
Key quotations
“For these reasons, we hold today that a granted motion for out-of-time appeal does not confer a right to file an otherwise-untimely motion to withdraw a guilty plea.” (17-18)
“We lack the authority to substitute our policy preferences for those of the General Assembly and thereby allow a defendant to skirt the legislatively established process.” (14-15)
“A person who tampers with evidence of [her] own crime is guilty of only a misdemeanor.” (19)
Factual background
In October 2016, Schoicket pleaded guilty to felony murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, tampering with evidence, and possession of methamphetamine. She was sentenced to life plus five years, including a 10-year sentence for tampering with evidence in her own case. More than a year after judgment, she sought an out-of-time appeal and leave to file a motion to withdraw her guilty plea, asserting that ineffective assistance had frustrated her timely appeal and that her plea was not knowing and voluntary.
Procedural history
Schoicket pleaded guilty in the Walton County Superior Court to felony murder and other charges in October 2016 and received a life sentence plus five years. More than a year later, she sought an out-of-time appeal and separately sought leave to file a motion to withdraw her guilty plea. The trial court granted the out-of-time appeal but denied leave to file the plea-withdrawal motion. The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed that denial, but vacated the sentence on Count 7 and remanded for resentencing.
Remand instructions
The denial of leave to pursue an untimely motion to withdraw the guilty plea is affirmed. The sentence on Count 7 is vacated, and the case is remanded to the trial court for resentencing on Count 7.