Merritt v. State

Hunstein, Chief Justice.

Thomas Merritt has been charged with the offenses of rape and false imprisonment based on events alleged to have occurred in February 2008. We granted Merritt’s application for interlocutory appeal to address whether the trial court erred by denying his motion to declare unconstitutional OCGA §§ 16-6-1 (b) and 17-10-6.1, the sentencing statutes for the crime of rape. Merritt claims the sentencing scheme created by these statutes for first convictions of rape violates his due process and Sixth Amendment rights because the statutes are so vague that they fail to apprise…