Courtland Smith v. State

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ July 08, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A2277. COURTLAND SMITH v. THE STATE.

Courtland Smith was convicted of felony murder and related offenses. The Supreme Court affirmed the verdicts in Smith v. State, 297 Ga. 667 (777 SE2d 453) (2015), though it concluded that the trial court erred in sentencing Smith on one count that should have merged with the murder count, and thus vacated that portion of Smith’s sentence. In 2026, Smith filed a motion to file an out-of- time motion for new trial. The trial court dismissed his motion and Smith appeals to this Court.

The Supreme Court of Georgia, however, has appellate jurisdiction over “[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III(8). Because a penalty of death may be imposed for the crime of felony murder, jurisdiction over this appeal lies in the Supreme Court. See OCGA § 16-5-1(c), (e)(1); Hart v. State, 322 Ga. 1, 10(1) (917 SE2d 631) (2025) (preserving requirement that this Court transfer “non-death-penalty murder appeals” to the Supreme Court). The Supreme Court’s jurisdiction over murder cases includes appeals from orders resolving post-judgment motions in such cases. See Simpson v. State, 292 Ga. 764 (740 SE2d 124) (2013).

Accordingly, we hereby TRANSFER this appeal to the Supreme Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 07/08/2026

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.