Adrian Anthony Johnson v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: November 17, 2020
• Docket: A21A0494
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ November 12, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A21A0494. ADRIAN ANTHONY JOHNSON v. THE STATE.

In 2019, Adrian Anthony Johnson was arrested and charged with cruelty to children. In May 2020, Johnson filed a pro se motion to dismiss the indictment, which the trial court denied and dismissed on the ground that Johnson was represented by counsel. In June 2020, Johnson, again appearing pro se, filed a “Motion for Immediate Release By and Through State of Emergency.” The trial court denied his request, and Johnson filed his pro se notice of appeal. We, however, lack jurisdiction. “A criminal defendant in Georgia does not have the right to represent himself and also be represented by an attorney, and pro se filings by represented parties are therefore unauthorized and without effect.” Tolbert v. Toole, 296 Ga. 357, 363 (3) (767 SE2d 24) (2014) (punctuation omitted). Here, Johnson is represented by counsel. There is nothing in the record indicating that the attorney either withdrew or was relieved from representation.1 Under these circumstances, Johnson’s pro se notice of appeal is a nullity. See Soberanis v. State, 345 Ga. App. 403, 405 (812 SE2d 800) (2018). For this reason, the appeal is DISMISSED. See id.

1 Johnson has since filed a motion to recuse his attorney, but nothing in the record on appeal indicates that the attorney has been relieved from representing Johnson. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to send a copy of this order to Johnson and to his attorney, and the latter also is DIRECTED to send a copy to Johnson.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 11/12/2020 I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.