Charles Henry King v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: March 30, 2023
• Docket: A23A1035
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ March 30, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A23A1035. CHARLES HENRY KING v. THE STATE.

In 2015, a jury found Charles King guilty of aggravated assault, and he pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. King filed a motion for new trial, which the trial court denied in 2019. He appealed that ruling, but we dismissed the appeal because it was untimely. Case No. A20A0129 (dismissed Sep. 11, 2019). In 2020, King filed a motion to file an out-of-time appeal, which the trial court granted in December 2022. King then filed this appeal from his conviction and the denial of his motion for new trial. Recently, the Supreme Court eliminated the out-of-time appeal procedure in trial courts, holding that a trial court is “without jurisdiction to decide [a] motion for out-of-time appeal” on the merits because “there was and is no legal authority for motions for out-of-time appeal in trial courts.” Cook v. State, 313 Ga. 471, 506 (5) (870 SE2d 758) (2022). The Supreme Court also concluded that this holding applies to “all cases that are currently on direct review or otherwise not yet final[,]” id., and directed that “pending and future motions for out-of-time appeals in trial courts should be dismissed, and trial court orders that have decided such motions on the merits . . . should be vacated if direct review of the case remains pending or if the case is otherwise not final.” Id. at 505 (4). In light of Cook, King had no right to file a motion for an out-of-time appeal in the trial court. See Rutledge v. State, 313 Ga. 460, 461 (870 SE2d 720) (2022). Accordingly, the trial court’s order granting King’s motion for an out-of-time appeal is VACATED, and this case is REMANDED for the entry of an order dismissing his motion for an out-of-time appeal. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/30/2023 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.