Artaeus Jones v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: April 28, 2023
• Docket: A23A0103
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ April 28, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A23A0103. ARTAEUS JONES v. THE STATE.

A jury found Artaeus Jones guilty of cruelty to children in the first degree, and Jones filed a timely motion for new trial. The trial court denied the motion on September 27, 2021. Jones filed a notice of appeal on November 15, 2021. According to this notice, counsel did not receive the September order until November 8, 2021. We, however, lack jurisdiction. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order sought to be appealed. See OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). “[T]he proper and timely filing of the notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction upon the appellate court.” Davis v. State, 330 Ga. App. 711, 711 (769 SE2d 133) (2015) (citation and punctuation omitted; emphasis in original). Because Jones filed his notice of appeal 49 days after the order denying the motion for new trial, the appeal is untimely and is therefore DISMISSED. If, as Jones alleges, he was unable to file a timely appeal because the trial court failed to notify him of its ruling, his remedy is to petition the trial court to vacate and re-enter the order under OCGA § 9-11-60 (g). See Wright v. Young, 297 Ga. 683, 684 (777 SE2d 475) (2015). If the order is vacated and re-entered, Jones may file a notice of appeal within 30 days from the re-entry date. See id. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 04/28/2023 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.