Bishop v. the State

Branch, Judge.

In 2015, 15 years after her conviction for possession of cocaine, Danielle Bishop filed a petition for the retroactive grant of first offender status under subsection (d) of OCGA § 42-8-66, a procedure which was added to the statute in 2015 and became effective on July 1, 2015.1 The trial court dismissed the motion on the ground that the petition was not available as to sentences entered before its effective date. On appeal, Bishop argues that the trial court should have considered her motion on the merits. We disagree and therefore affirm.

The relevant facts are not in dispute.…