When a defendant is resentenced, or where a sentence is amended, the defendant should be present. However, if resentencing only involves a ministerial function, a defendant need not be present. Shaheed v. State, 274 Ga. 716 (2002).
After a defendant begins serving his sentence, that sentence can only be increased through resentencing where the resentencing is allowed by law, and the defendant has no expectation of finality in the original sentence. Smarr v. State, 317 Ga. App. 584 (2012); Williams v. State, 213 Ga. App. 42 (2005).
Whenever a judge imposes a more severe sentence upon a defendant after a successful appeal, the reasons for doing so must appear on the record. There is a presumption of vindictiveness which may be overcome by objective information on the record justifying an increased sentence. Where the record shows no reasonable likelihood that the increased sentence was the result of vindictiveness there is no basis for a presumption and the burden remains on the defendant to prove vindictiveness. Callahan v. State, 317 Ga. App. 513 (2012).