Mark Dewayne Mathis v. State

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________
June 04, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A1974. MARK DEWAYNE MATHIS v. THE STATE.

In 2019, Mark Dewayne Mathis was convicted of two counts of possession of
methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute, one count of
driving without headlights, and one count of failure to maintain brake lights, for which
he was sentenced as a recidivist to a total of 40 years with the first 20 years to serve
in confinement. This Court affirmed his convictions on appeal in an unpublished
opinion. Mathis v. State, Case No. A22A0673 (Aug. 16, 2022). In January 2026,
Mathis filed a motion to vacate a void sentence. The trial court denied the motion, and
Mathis filed this appeal.
In his void-sentence motion, Mathis claimed that the State improperly relied
on a GCIC criminal history report to prove a prior conviction and presented a certified
copy of Mathis’s waiver-of-counsel form filed in that case. However, Mathis
unsuccessfully challenged the use of the GCIC report and the waiver form in his
previous appeal. Mathis may not relitigate these claims in this appeal. See Paradise v.
State, 321 Ga. App. 371, 373 (740 SE2d 238) (2013) (although a void sentence may be
challenged at any time, such a challenge is nevertheless subject to the equally
well-established principles of res judicata and the law-of-the-case rule).
Consequently, Mathis is not entitled to a direct appeal, and this appeal is hereby
DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
06/04/2026
I certify that the above is a true extract from
the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia.
Witness my signature and the seal of said court
hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.