Anthony Wayne Allen v. State

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ November 14, 2014

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A15A0395. ANTHONY WAYNE ALLEN v. THE STATE.

Anthony Wayne Allen was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed his conviction and sentence. See Allen v. State, 260 Ga. 147 (390 SE2d 848) (1990). He subsequently filed a “Petition to Demand Death Penalty,” asking the trial court to amend his sentence to death. After the court denied his motion, Allen appealed to this Court. Under our Constitution, however, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over “[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed.” See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (8). Because a penalty of death can be imposed for the crime of murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court. See OCGA § 17-10-30 (b); Neal v. State, 290 Ga. 563, 572 (722 SE2d 765) (2012) (Hunstein, C. J., concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524 (322 SE2d 711) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer “all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder”). Accordingly, Allen’s appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 11/14/2014

Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 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.