State Supreme Court overturns ruling in Hall Co. child molestation case

ATLANTA - The Georgia Supreme Court Monday unanimously reversed a Georgia Court of Appeals decision and ruled that a Hall County court did not err in re-sentencing a man convicted of child molestation.

With the ruling, written by Justice Carol Hunstein, the high court has broken with precedent and overruled its decades-old decision in Anthony v. Hopper. At issue in this case is the proper method for determining whether a re-sentence improperly results in a more severe sentence or not.

Claude Wayne Hudson was convicted in Gainesville in November 2009 of aggravated sexual battery and child molestation and sentenced him to life on the aggravated sexual battery charge, with 25 years to serve in prison and the remainder on probation. He was also sentenced to 30 years on the child molestation charge, with 10 years to serve in prison and the remainder on probation. The sentences were to run concurrently so he was due to spend a total of 25 years in prison.

Hudson appealed and the state Court of Appeals sided with him and on another appeal that occurred after he was re-sentenced by a Hall County judge - and, again, the appeals court ruled in his favor.

Monday's supreme court ruling overturning the appeals court decision was unanimous.

Click on the link below to read Monday's ruling

http://accesswdun.com/article/2013/9/265893