Christopher Houston v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: July 9, 2026
• Docket: A26I0260
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ July 09, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26I0260. CHRISTOPHER HOUSTON v. THE STATE.

On March 30, 2026, Christopher Houston moved to recuse the trial judge in two criminal cases against him. In separate orders entered on May 12, 2026, the trial court denied each motion. The trial court further denied Houston’s requests for a certificate of immediate review in orders entered May 13, 2026. Houston then filed this application for interlocutory appeal, but we lack jurisdiction. “Denials of motions to recuse are interlocutory in nature. An appeal of such an order requires compliance with the interlocutory appeal provisions of OCGA § 5-6-34(b),” including obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the trial court within ten days of the order sought to be appealed. See Ellis v. Stanford, 256 Ga. App. 294, 295(2) (568 SE2d 157) (2002). Here, Houston neither obtained nor filed a certificate of immediate review, and thus did not comply with the requirements of OCGA § 5-6-34(b) or Court of Appeals Rule 30(c). The requirements of OCGA § 5-6-34(b) are jurisdictional, and if a party seeking interlocutory review does not comply with these requirements, we lack jurisdiction to consider the application. Islamkhan v. Khan, 299 Ga. 548, 551(2) (787 SE2d 731) (2016). Further, this Court will not review a trial court’s decision as to whether to grant or deny a certificate of immediate review. See id. at 551(2) n.6. Accordingly, this application is hereby DISMISSED. Houston’s motion for stay of proceedings and supersedeas, and motion to expedite, are additionally DENIED as MOOT.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 07/09/2026 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.