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2018 Georgia Code 9-14-51 | Car Wreck Lawyer

TITLE 9 CIVIL PRACTICE

Section 14. Habeas Corpus, 9-14-1 through 9-14-53.

ARTICLE 2 PROCEDURE FOR PERSONS UNDER SENTENCE OF STATE COURT OF RECORD

9-14-51. Effect of failure to raise grounds for relief in original or amended petition.

All grounds for relief claimed by a petitioner for a writ of habeas corpus shall be raised by a petitioner in his original or amended petition. Any grounds not so raised are waived unless the Constitution of the United States or of this state otherwise requires or unless any judge to whom the petition is assigned, on considering a subsequent petition, finds grounds for relief asserted therein which could not reasonably have been raised in the original or amended petition.

(Code 1933, § 50-127, enacted by Ga. L. 1967, p. 835, § 3; Ga. L. 1973, p. 1315, § 1.)

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Purpose of this section is to discontinue practice of filing multiple habeas corpus petitions under a single conviction. Hunter v. Brown, 236 Ga. 168, 223 S.E.2d 145 (1976).

Pro se petitioners.

- Georgia's procedural default rule does not provide an exception to the rule's requirements for pro se prisoners. McCoy v. Newsome, 953 F.2d 1252 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 504 U.S. 944, 112 S. Ct. 2283, 119 L. Ed. 2d 208 (1992).

One review on merits sufficient.

- One review on the merits, whether on habeas corpus or on appeal of conviction, is sufficient when neither facts nor law has changed. Brown v. Ricketts, 233 Ga. 809, 213 S.E.2d 672 (1975).

Alternative ruling on the merits.

- As long as a state court explicitly invokes a state procedural bar rule as a separate basis for a decision, an alternative ruling on the merits does not preclude the federal courts from applying the state procedural bar. Alderman v. Zant, 22 F.3d 1541 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 1061, 115 S. Ct. 673, 130 L. Ed. 2d 606 (1994).

Failure to raise issue in first petition waives issue on second petition.

- When the defendant did not raise any challenge to the defendant's grand or traverse juries prior to trial or in the defendant's first habeas petition, nor did the defendant ever raise any question as to the competency of the defendant's trial counsel or the defendant's first habeas corpus, the habeas court upon the second petition did not err in refusing to hear the merits of the claim that women were under-represented on grand and petit jury panels. Smith v. Zant, 250 Ga. 645, 301 S.E.2d 32, cert. denied, 464 U.S. 807, 104 S. Ct. 55, 78 L. Ed. 2d 74 (1983).

When the petitioner committed a procedural default when the petitioner failed to assert an ineffective assistance of counsel claim in the petitioner's first habeas proceeding, preferring to stand on the petitioner's claim of attorney-client privilege, absent a showing of cause and prejudice, the petitioner was subsequently barred from bringing the claim in a federal habeas corpus proceeding. Morris v. Kemp, 809 F.2d 1499 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 482 U.S. 907, 107 S. Ct. 2486, 96 L. Ed. 2d 378 (1987).

Under the precedents existing at the time of a petitioner's first habeas petition, a claim that the petitioner could not be convicted of aggravated stalking based solely on a single violation of a protective order could have been raised based on the language of O.C.G.A. §§ 16-5-90(a)(1) and16-5-91(a); therefore, the petitioner's second petition was barred by O.C.G.A. § 9-14-51. State v. Cusack, 296 Ga. 534, 769 S.E.2d 370 (2015).

Court to determine whether matter could "reasonably have been raised" before.

- Petitioner who failed to allege a violation in the petitioner's original state petition is not barred from raising the violation in state court until a state court judge considers the subsequent petition and decides the matter could "reasonably have been raised" before. Cherry v. Director, State Bd. of Cors., 613 F.2d 1262 (5th Cir. 1980), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 840, 102 S. Ct. 150, 70 L. Ed. 2d 124 (1981).

When counsel's failure to assert grounds contravened client's wishes.

- Individual did not waive rights to a habeas corpus proceeding when, contrary to the individual's wishes and the individual's counsel's assurance, counsel failed to assert grounds for habeas corpus in the preceding hearing. Smith v. Garner, 236 Ga. 81, 222 S.E.2d 351 (1976), later appeal, State Bd. of Cors. v. Smith, 238 Ga. 565, 233 S.E.2d 797 (1977).

Appeal on newly asserted ground held meritless.

- When it appeared that the petitioner was fully apprised of the provisions of this section, and there was a total absence of any explanation on the petitioner's part to afford the trial judge any basis for determining that the petitioner had not previously deliberately withheld a newly asserted ground, the petitioner's appeal was without merit. Reese v. Ault, 229 Ga. 694, 194 S.E.2d 79 (1972).

Relitigation of ineffective assistance claim allowed.

- When a petitioner calls the state court's attention to ineffective assistance problems and the court examines the crucial aspect of counsel's representation, the petitioner may relitigate the constitutional claim in federal court, though the petitioner failed to specify counsel's closing argument as a ground supporting the petitioner's ineffective assistance claim. Francis v. Spraggins, 720 F.2d 1190 (11th Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1059, 105 S. Ct. 1776, 84 L. Ed. 2d 835 (1985).

Cause for failure to raise ineffective assistance issue.

- There was "cause" for petitioner's failure to raise the ineffective assistance issue in the petitioner's first state habeas petition in the fact that the petitioner's trial counsel, whose effectiveness is challenged in federal proceedings, also represented the petitioner in the first state habeas proceeding, and such counsel's failings caused petitioner to suffer an "actual and substantial disadvantage," thus constituting the "prejudice" that must be established before a procedurally defaulted claim may be heard by a federal habeas court. Stephens v. Kemp, 846 F.2d 642 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 872, 109 S. Ct. 189, 102 L. Ed. 2d 158 (1988).

Relief improperly granted on unasserted ground of ineffective assistance.

- Because the record showed that the defendant did not, either in the habeas petition or at the habeas hearing, assert a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel based on inconsistent representation, and the warden was given no notice of and had no meaningful opportunity to investigate or respond to the ground on which the habeas court's grant of relief was based, the habeas court erred by granting relief to the defendant on an unasserted ground, despite the general authority of a habeas court to consider matters sua sponte. Shepard v. Williams, 299 Ga. 437, 788 S.E.2d 428 (2016).

Conflict of interest of trial counsel.

- On a second habeas petition when an inmate claimed that trial counsel had simultaneously served as a special assistant attorney general, it was error to assume that the inmate could have discovered the conflict before filing the inmate's first habeas petition; the inmate was entitled to presume that trial counsel did not have an undisclosed conflict of interest as trial counsel had a duty to disclose the conflict under O.C.G.A. § 45-15-30 and had a clear ethical duty to do so. Gibson v. Head, 282 Ga. 156, 646 S.E.2d 257 (2007).

Consideration claims denied although courts did not expressly apply this section.

- When neither the Georgia Supreme Court nor the superior court expressly addressed the application of O.C.G.A. § 9-14-51 to the ineffective assistance issues which a defendant had failed to raise in the defendant's first state habeas petition, and the defendant did not challenge the finding that the defendant's ineffective assistance of counsel claims were ruled on in the defendant's original habeas petition, so the Supreme Court relied on the uncontested finding and barred consideration of the defendant's ineffective assistance claims without reaching the express application of § 9-14-51, then the Georgia court's subsequent application of that section was not inconsistent to bar consideration of the ineffective assistance claims raised in the defendant's second state petition. Stevens v. Zant, 968 F.2d 1076 (11th Cir. 1992), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 929, 113 S. Ct. 1306, 122 L. Ed. 2d 695 (1993).

Claim of erroneous psychiatric evaluation.

- Capital defendant's claim that the defendant was subject to an erroneous psychiatric evaluation was procedurally barred on habeas appeal because the defendant did not raise the claim in the defendant's first or second state habeas corpus petitions. Burger v. Zant, 984 F.2d 1129 (11th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 847, 114 S. Ct. 141, 126 L. Ed. 2d 104 (1993).

Claim of sequestration violation not sufficiently raised.

- As to any claim by petitioner death row inmate that two witnesses violated the rule of sequestration or that the testimony of those two witnesses and a third was fabricated, those claims were procedurally barred under O.C.G.A. § 9-14-51 as the claims were not raised on direct appeal or in the petitioner's state habeas corpus petition when the inmate alleged only that the third witness violated the rule of sequestration. Jefferson v. Terry, 490 F. Supp. 2d 1261 (N.D. Ga. 2007), aff'd in part and rev'd in part, 570 F.3d 1283 (11th Cir. Ga. 2009).

Basis for procedural default of federal habeas corpus.

- Death row inmate was not entitled to federal habeas relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 on the inmate's claims that racial animosity led trial counsel to conceal the state's offer of a life sentence, thus providing ineffective assistance under U.S. Const., amend. 6, and leading to the imposition of the death penalty in violation of U.S. Const., amend. 8; both claims were procedurally barred from federal review since the state trial court found the Sixth Amendment claim res judicata pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 9-14-51 and relied upon Georgia procedural rules in denying the inmate relief on the Eighth Amendment claim; in any event, neither claim had merit. Osborne v. Terry, 466 F.3d 1298 (11th Cir. 2006), cert. denied, 552 U.S. 841, 128 S. Ct. 84, 169 L. Ed. 2d 64 (2007).

In a federal habeas case in which an inmate exhausted seven of the eight claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel in a state habeas proceeding, but the inmate failed to exhaust the eighth claim, that claim was procedurally defaulted under O.C.G.A. § 9-14-51. Ogle v. Johnson, 488 F.3d 1364 (11th Cir. 2007).

O.C.G.A. § 9-14-51 bars adjudication of issues that could have been raised in an original or amended habeas petition; petitioner had six months between the withdrawal of an extraordinary motion for new trial and a ruling on a third state habeas petition to assert an ineffective assistance of counsel claim but failed to do so; therefore, the petitioner failed to exhaust this claim. As the claim was unexhausted, the federal habeas court had to treat the claim as procedurally defaulted. Mize v. Hall, 532 F.3d 1184 (11th Cir. 2008), overruled on other grounds, 285 Ga. 24, 673 S.E.2d 227 (2009).

Georgia's procedural default rule, O.C.G.A. § 9-14-51, was inadequate to bar federal review of the inmate's mental retardation claim because the statute had not been consistently and regularly followed. Conner v. Hall, 645 F.3d 1277 (11th Cir. 2011).

Issue of right to counsel not raised as ground for habeas corpus relief.

- While a respondent was entitled to counsel on a motion to withdraw a guilty plea to aggravated assault but proceeded pro se on an appeal of the denial of that motion, the issue of the right to counsel was never raised as a ground for habeas corpus relief as required by O.C.G.A. §§ 9-14-44 and9-14-51 and, thus, the respondent was improperly granted a writ of habeas corpus. Murrell v. Young, 285 Ga. 182, 674 S.E.2d 890 (2009).

Cited in Brown v. Smith, 230 Ga. 661, 198 S.E.2d 672 (1973); Bloodworth v. Hopper, 539 F.2d 1382 (5th Cir. 1976); Jarrell v. Zant, 248 Ga. 492, 284 S.E.2d 17 (1981); Blake v. Zant, 513 F. Supp. 772 (S.D. Ga. 1981); Crane v. State, 249 Ga. 501, 292 S.E.2d 67 (1982); Dix v. Zant, 249 Ga. 810, 294 S.E.2d 527 (1982); Williams v. State, 251 Ga. 83, 303 S.E.2d 111 (1983); Brown v. Francis, 254 Ga. 83, 326 S.E.2d 735 (1985); Stevens v. Kemp, 254 Ga. 228, 327 S.E.2d 185 (1985); Moore v. Kemp, 254 Ga. 279, 328 S.E.2d 725 (1985); Tucker v. Kemp, 256 Ga. 571, 351 S.E.2d 196 (1987); Presnell v. Kemp, 835 F.2d 1567 (11th Cir. 1988); Jones v. Kemp, 706 F. Supp. 1534 (N.D. Ga. 1989); Smith v. Newsome, 876 F.2d 1461 (11th Cir. 1989); Lancaster v. Newsome, 880 F.2d 362 (11th Cir. 1989); Gaither v. Sims, 259 Ga. 807, 387 S.E.2d 889 (1990); High v. Turpin, 14 F. Supp. 2d 1358 (S.D. Ga. 1998); Collier v. Turpin, 177 F.3d 1184 (11th Cir. 1999); Putman v. Turpin, 53 F. Supp. 2d 1285 (M.D. Ga. 1999); Parker v. Turpin, 60 F. Supp. 2d 1332 (N.D. Ga. 1999); Mincey v. Head, 206 F.3d 1106 (11th Cir. 2000); Spivey v. Head, 207 F.3d 1263 (11th Cir. 2000); Ford v. Schofield, 488 F. Supp. 2d 1258 (N.D. Ga. 2007); Tolbert v. Toole, 296 Ga. 357, 767 S.E.2d 24 (2014); Prince v. State, 299 Ga. 888, 793 S.E.2d 38 (2016).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- Denial of relief to prisoner on habeas corpus as bar to second application, 161 A.L.R. 1331.

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 9-14-51

Total Results: 20  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Tolbert v. Toole, 296 Ga. 357 (Ga. 2014).

Cited 171 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Nov 17, 2014 | 767 S.E.2d 24

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Cook v. State, 870 S.E.2d 758 (Ga. 2022).

Cited 114 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 15, 2022 | 313 Ga. 471

...ect to equitable tolling, see Stubbs v. Hall, 308 Ga. 354, 369 (840 SE2d 407) (2020). 52 It provides for a statutory defense of laches, OCGA § 9-14-48 (e), and contains a bar on successive habeas petitions, OCGA § 9-14-51. Moreover, the Civil Practice Act, OCGA § 9-11-1 et seq., generally applies to habeas corpus proceedings....
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Turpin v. Todd, 493 S.E.2d 900 (Ga. 1997).

Cited 92 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Dec 5, 1997 | 268 Ga. 820, 98 Fulton County D. Rep. 152

...In his second state habeas corpus action, Smith raised for the first time the question whether the State had failed to reveal a deal with a State's witness, and had failed to correct the witness's false testimony at Smith's trial that he had no deal with the State. The State contended that Smith's claim was barred under OCGA § 9-14-51, which precludes a petitioner from asserting a claim in a successive habeas corpus petition unless the habeas court finds that the claim "could not reasonably have been raised in the original or amended petition." In Smith, the State conte...
...re than he did to protect himself. We find that the state should have done more than it did to protect the defendant's rights." We, therefore, hold that Smith has alleged facts, supported by affidavits, sufficient to satisfy the requirements of OCGA § 9-14-51 (Code Ann....
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Allen v. Thomas, 265 Ga. 518 (Ga. 1995).

Cited 15 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jun 12, 1995 | 458 S.E.2d 107

...[3] Wilkes, A New Role for an Ancient Writ: Postconviction Habeas Corpus Relief in Georgia (Part I), 8 Ga. L. Rev., pp. 313, 333 (quoting in part 1 Stevens, History of Georgia 65, 67-68 (1847)). [4] Wilkes, supra at 333. [5] Wilkes, supra at 313-315. [6] OCGA § 9-14-48 (d). [7] OCGA § 9-14-51....
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Gibson v. Head, 646 S.E.2d 257 (Ga. 2007).

Cited 9 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jun 11, 2007 | 282 Ga. 156, 2007 Fulton County D. Rep. 1816

...irst habeas petition. Gibson v. Turpin, 270 Ga. 855, 513 S.E.2d 186 (1999). Gibson filed a second state habeas petition in 2000, and the habeas court, without conducting an evidentiary hearing, dismissed that second petition as successive under OCGA § 9-14-51....
...In considering whether Gibson's conflict of interest claim was procedurally barred and whether legally-sufficient reason to set aside that bar existed, the habeas court correctly identified a first layer of procedural bar present in this case, namely, the bar to successive habeas petitions. See OCGA § 9-14-51 ("All grounds for relief claimed by a petitioner for a writ of habeas corpus shall be raised by a petitioner in his original or amended petition....
...In light of the foregoing, we hold that the habeas court erred in relying on the assumption that Gibson could have discovered his trial attorney's conflict of interest prior to filing his first habeas petition to reach the conclusion that Gibson's conflict of interest claim was barred as successive under OCGA § 9-14-51....
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Murrell v. Young, 674 S.E.2d 890 (Ga. 2009).

Cited 8 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 23, 2009 | 285 Ga. 182, 2009 Fulton County D. Rep. 1023

..."A [habeas] petition . . . shall . . . clearly set forth the respects in which the petitioner's rights were violated." OCGA § 9-14-44. "All grounds for relief claimed by a [habeas] petitioner . . . shall be raised . . . in his original or amended petition." OCGA § 9-14-51....
...Here, neither Young's initial pro se habeas petition nor the restated petition filed by habeas counsel asserts the denial of Young's right to counsel on appeal as a basis for relief. [2] Therefore, the issue was not properly raised as required under OCGA §§ 9-14-44 and 9-14-51, and the habeas court accordingly erred by granting relief on this issue....
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Shepard v. Williams, 299 Ga. 437 (Ga. 2016).

Cited 5 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jul 5, 2016 | 788 S.E.2d 428

...Georgia law requires that a habeas petition “clearly set forth the respects in which the petitioner’s rights were violated,” OCGA § 9-14-44, and that “[a]ll grounds for relief claimed by a habeas petitioner . . . be raised . . . in his original or amended petition.” OCGA § 9-14-51....
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State v. Cusack, 296 Ga. 534 (Ga. 2015).

Cited 4 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 16, 2015 | 769 S.E.2d 370

...s separate from the aggravated stalking charge. Thus, habeas relief was granted on consideration of Cusack’s second habeas petition. Ordinarily, habeas relief is not available on the filing of a second habeas petition. Rather, under OCGA § 9-14-51, [a]ll grounds for relief claimed by a petitioner for a writ of habeas corpus shall be raised by a petitioner in his original or amended petition....
...second] Petition is the first available opportunity [Cusack] had to attack his conviction” after Burke, noting that Burke was decided three months after Cusack filed his first petition for a writ of habeas corpus. But, in doing so, the habeas court erred. When considering a successive petition under OCGA § 9-14-51, the habeas court must determine, as the threshold matter, whether the petitioner is entitled to a hearing on the merits of his belated claims....
...Accordingly, under the precedents existing at the time of Cusack’s first habeas petition, a claim that Cusack could not be convicted of aggravated stalking based solely on a single violation of a protective order could have been raised. Consequently, under OCGA § 9-14-51, habeas relief could not be granted on Cusack’s second habeas petition....
...All the Justices concur. 4 Further, even if this Court’s opinion in Burke had represented a substantive change in the criminal law that could not have been raised until that opinion issued, it appears Cusack’s second habeas petition would nonetheless have been subject to dismissal. Under OCGA § 9-14-51, grounds not raised in the earlier habeas petition are waived “unless ....
...e in the law, and the hearing on Cusack’s first habeas petition. Although Cusack did not file an amendment to his petition, given such a time frame, it would have been reasonable to do so had the substantive criminal law actually changed, and OCGA § 9-14-51would thus operate so as to treat that ground as waived. 8
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Polanco v. State, 313 Ga. 598 (Ga. 2022).

Cited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Apr 19, 2022

...See OCGA § 9-14-41 et seq. Appellant should be aware of the possible application of the restrictions that apply to such habeas corpus filings, such as the time deadlines provided by OCGA § 9-14-42 (c) and the limitation on successive petitions provided by OCGA § 9-14-51. All the Justices concur. ELLINGTON, Justice, concurring. After Saul Polanco fatally stabbed his wife, he entered a negotiated guilty plea to felony murder predicated on aggravated 3 assault, along with other charges, on November 19, 2019....
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Prince v. State, 299 Ga. 888 (Ga. 2016).

Cited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 31, 2016 | 793 S.E.2d 38

...firmed his conviction in Prince v. State, 277 Ga. 230 (587 SE2d 637) (2003). He has since filed at least two separate petitions seeking a writ of habeas corpus, the second being dismissed by the habeas court on March 14, 2013 as successive. See OCGA § 9-14-51;2 Gibson v....
...grams administered by the Department of Corrections, the effect of which would be to reduce the sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole, except as may be authorized by any existing or future provisions of the Constitution. OCGA § 9-14-51 reads: All grounds for relief claimed by a petitioner for a writ of habeas corpus shall be raised by a petitioner in his original or amended petition....
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Williams v. Hall, 687 S.E.2d 414 (Ga. 2009).

Cited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Nov 2, 2009 | 286 Ga. 280, 2009 Fulton County D. Rep. 3461

..."A (habeas) petition . . . shall . . . clearly set forth the respects in which the petitioner's rights were violated." OCGA § 9-14-44. "All grounds for relief claimed by a (habeas) petitioner . . . shall be raised . . . in his original or amended petition." OCGA § 9-14-51....
...3, 523 S.E.2d 325 (1999) (warden did not complain that he was denied an opportunity to respond to habeas court's sua sponte consideration of matter not raised by petitioner). Since "the issue was not properly raised as required under OCGA §§ 9-14-44 and 9-14-51,....
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Spivey v. State, 544 S.E.2d 136 (Ga. 2001).

Cited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 6, 2001 | 273 Ga. 544

...file a successive habeas petition, raising grounds "which are either constitutionally nonwaivable or which could not reasonably have been raised in the earlier petition. [Cits.]" Tucker v. Kemp, 256 Ga. 571, 573, 351 S.E.2d 196 (1987). See also OCGA § 9-14-51....
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Earp v. Boylan, 390 S.E.2d 577 (Ga. 1990).

Cited 3 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Apr 20, 1990 | 260 Ga. 112

...I, Sec. IX, Cl. II. b) As the Department points out in its brief, there are a number of recognized procedural limitations on the writ of habeas corpus which do not have the effect of suspending it in violation of the Georgia Constitution. See OCGA § 9-14-51 (limitation on successive habeas corpus petitions); Reed v....
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Ballinger, Warden v. Watkins, 882 S.E.2d 312 (Ga. 2022).

Cited 2 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Dec 20, 2022 | 315 Ga. 369

...presented and failed to correct false or misleading testimony in violation of Napue. As a threshold matter, the habeas court found that these claims were neither untimely nor barred by Watkins’s failure to raise them in his prior habeas petition. See OCGA § 9-14-51....
...time in a second or successive habeas petition are not waived if the court “finds grounds for relief asserted therein which could not reasonably have been raised in the 13 original or amended petition,” OCGA § 9-14-51....
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Watkins v. Ballinger, 840 S.E.2d 378 (Ga. 2020).

Cited 2 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 13, 2020 | 308 Ga. 387

...consideration can be done in this matter.” After a hearing on the motion to dismiss, at which no witnesses were called and the parties agreed to proceed on the record and argument alone, the habeas court dismissed Watkins’ petition as both untimely filed under OCGA § 9-14-42 (c) (4) and successive under OCGA § 9-14-51....
...on grounds of which he or she could not have had knowledge by the exercise of reasonable diligence before the circumstances prejudicial to the respondent occurred.” See Flint v. State, 288 Ga. 39, 39 n.1 (701 SE2d 174) (2010). Similarly, OCGA § 9-14-51 provides: All grounds for relief claimed by a petitioner for a writ of habeas corpus shall be raised by a petitioner in his original or amended petition....
...therein which could not reasonably have been raised in the original or amended petition. See Turpin v. Todd, 268 Ga. 820, 825-826 (2) (a) (493 SE2d 900) (1997) (looking to analogous federal law and holding that overcoming procedural bar of OCGA § 9-14-51 requires showing that factual or legal basis for claim was “not reasonably available” or “not readily discoverable” to petitioner (punctuation omitted)). The warden in her brief urges that we not consider cases construing...
...hose decisions address procedural provisions of the Habeas Corpus Act not directly at issue in this appeals, and we therefore should not rely upon those holdings here. But we cannot interpret OCGA § 9-14-42 (c) (4), OCGA § 9-14-48 (e), or OCGA § 9-14-51 individually or in a vacuum. Rather, to determine the meaning of “due diligence,” “reasonably available,” and “reasonably discoverable” in the context of those Code sections, we look to the overall context of the statutory habeas corpus provisions, see Deal v....
...Indeed, this Court’s leading cases rely on one another even when interpreting different sections of the Code governing habeas corpus petitions. For example, in Turpin v. Todd, we relied on Smith v. Zant, 250 Ga. 645 (301 SE2d 32) (1983), a case involving a second habeas petition under OCGA § 9-14-51, to analyze a question of procedural default under OCGA § 9-14-48 (d). See Turpin, 268 Ga. at 824-828 (2) (a). Similarly, in Gibson v. Head, 282 Ga. 156 (646 SE2d 257) (2007), we considered Turpin in analyzing whether a second habeas petition was successive under OCGA § 9-14-51....
...attempts to obtain documents through the Open Records Act over a period of several years constituted due diligence within the meaning of OCGA § 9-14-42 (c) (4), and that this claim could not reasonably have been raised in his original petition under OCGA § 9-14-51. The habeas court found that Watkins could have discovered 6 Watkins further asserts that both the prosecutor and the witness knowingly made false statements to the trial court, on the basis that the GBI’s chain of custody...
...default under OCGA § 9-14-48 (d)). And in Smith, 250 Ga. at 652 (3), this Court considered whether the State’s failure to correct the false testimony of a witness could “reasonably have been raised in the original [habeas] petition.” OCGA § 9-14-51....
...grounds for relief which could not reasonably have been raised in his original habeas petition and which could not have been discovered by the reasonable exercise of due diligence. This is sufficient to satisfy the requirements of OCGA §§ 9-14-42 (c) (4) and 9-14-51, to withstand a motion to dismiss, and to entitle him at least to an evidentiary hearing on these allegations.7 We therefore reverse the habeas court’s dismissal of Watkins’ petition and remand this case for further proceedings. Judgment reversed and case remanded....
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Rouzan v. State, 872 S.E.2d 288 (Ga. 2022).

Cited 1 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Apr 19, 2022 | 313 Ga. 606

...Rouzan 3 should be aware of the possible application of the restrictions that apply to such habeas corpus filings, such as the time deadlines provided by OCGA § 9-14-42 (c) and the limitation on successive petitions provided by OCGA § 9-14-51. All the Justices concur. NAHMIAS, Chief Justice, concurring. I agree that the trial court’s order granting Rouzan’s motion for an out-of-time appeal must be vacated and the motion must then be dismissed on remand pursuant to this Court’s recent decision in Cook v....
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Thomas v. Caldwell, Warden, 873 S.E.2d 215 (Ga. 2022).

Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | May 17, 2022 | 313 Ga. 799

...CALDWELL. WARREN, Justice. The application for a certificate of probable cause to appeal in this case presents the question of whether the habeas court properly dismissed Jerry Thomas’s petition for habeas corpus on the ground that it was successive under OCGA § 9-14-51....
...re-sentencing on several grounds. On December 22, 2020, the habeas court dismissed Thomas’s second petition as successive, ruling that the claims raised in that petition “could reasonably have been raised” in his initial petition in 2017. See OCGA § 9-14-51 2 (stating that any ground for relief not raised by a petitioner in his initial habeas petition is waived unless the “grounds for relief asserted therein ....

Polanco v. State (Ga. 2022).

Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Apr 19, 2022 | 313 Ga. 799

...See OCGA § 9-14-41 et seq. Appellant should be aware of the possible application of the restrictions that apply to such habeas corpus filings, such as the time deadlines provided by OCGA § 9-14-42 (c) and the limitation on successive petitions provided by OCGA § 9-14-51. All the Justices concur. SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA Clerk’s Office, Atlanta I certify that the above is a true extract from...

State v. Cusack (Ga. 2015).

Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 16, 2015 | 313 Ga. 799

...s separate from the aggravated stalking charge. Thus, habeas relief was granted on consideration of Cusack’s second habeas petition. Ordinarily, habeas relief is not available on the filing of a second habeas petition. Rather, under OCGA § 9-14-51, [a]ll grounds for relief claimed by a petitioner for a writ of habeas corpus shall be raised by a petitioner in his original or amended petition....
...second] Petition is the first available opportunity [Cusack] had to attack his conviction” after Burke, noting that Burke was decided three months after Cusack filed his first petition for a writ of habeas corpus. But, in doing so, the habeas court erred. When considering a successive petition under OCGA § 9-14-51, the habeas court must determine, as the threshold matter, whether the petitioner is entitled to a hearing on the merits of his belated claims....
...Accordingly, under the precedents existing at the time of Cusack’s first habeas petition, a claim that Cusack could not be convicted of aggravated stalking based solely on a single violation of a protective order could have been raised. Consequently, under OCGA § 9-14-51, habeas relief could not be granted on Cusack’s second habeas petition....
...All the Justices concur. 4 Further, even if this Court’s opinion in Burke had represented a substantive change in the criminal law that could not have been raised until that opinion issued, it appears Cusack’s second habeas petition would nonetheless have been subject to dismissal. Under OCGA § 9-14-51, grounds not raised in the earlier habeas petition are waived “unless ....
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Johnson v. Griffin, 273 Ga. 322 (Ga. 2001).

Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jan 8, 2001 | 540 S.E.2d 189

...Griffin then filed another habeas petition in the Superior Court of Baldwin County in which he asserted that his guilty plea was based upon “unfulfillable and unenforceable promises of OCGA §§ 42-9-40 and 42-9-45 and those statutes are unconstitutional under the Georgia Constitution. . . .” Citing OCGA § 9-14-51,1 the habeas court denied the Warden’s motion to dismiss the second petition as successive because the first habeas court had never ruled on petitioner’s claim that the statutes were unconstitutional....
...As such, it is not a claim cognizable in habeas corpus proceedings, and Griffin’s remedy lies in a mandamus action. Johnson v. Griffin, supra, 271 Ga. 663. Accordingly, the habeas court erred when it denied the Warden’s motion to dismiss the second habeas petition. Judgment reversed. All the Justices concur. OCGA § 9-14-51 states that All grounds for relief claimed by a petitioner for a writ of habeas corpus shall be raised by a petitioner in bis original or amended petition....