Fleming v. State

Hines, Justice.

We granted certiorari to the Court of Appeals in Fleming v. State, 233 Ga. App. 483 (504 SE2d 542) (1998), and Burleson v. State, 233 Ga. App. 769 (505 SE2d 515) (1998), cases involving unrelated criminal defendants, to address the common question of whether a defendant found guilty of a serious violent felony under OCGA § 17-10-6.1 could apply for first offender status prior to the 1998 amendments to OCGA § 17-10-6.1 and the First Offender Act, OCGA § 42-8-60 et seq. Contrary to the majority opinion in Fleming, which was held controlling in Burleson, we conclude that before…