Antonio A. Andrews v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: September 20, 2024
• Docket: A25A0356
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ September 20, 2024

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A25A0356. ANTONIO A. ANDREWS v. THE STATE.

A jury found Antonio A. Andrews guilty of driving without a valid license and violating Georgia’s “Hands Free” law, OCGA § 40-6-241 (c). On July 11, 2024, the trial court entered a judgment of conviction and sentence. Thirty-four days later, on August 14, 2024, Andrews filed a notice of appeal.1 We lack jurisdiction. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the judgment or trial court order sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. Ebeling v. State, 355 Ga. App. 469, 469 (844 SE2d 518) (2020). Because Andrews’s notice of appeal was not timely filed, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 09/20/2024 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.

1 Although the notice of appeal bears a signature date of July 27, 2024, we rely on the clerk’s endorsement (that is, the file-stamp date) as the filing date in the absence of evidence to the contrary. See Lavan v. Philips, 184 Ga. App. 573, 574 (362 SE2d 138) (1987).