David Jeffrey McElroy v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: February 10, 2023
• Docket: A23A0930
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

February 10, 2023 ATLANTA,____________________

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A23A0930. DAVID JEFFREY MCELROY v. THE STATE.

In June 2022, David Jeffrey McElroy entered a negotiated guilty plea, pursuant to which he pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine and received a probationary sentence. Acting pro se, McElroy filed a timely notice of appeal from his conviction. We, however, lack jurisdiction. “A criminal defendant in Georgia does not have the right to represent himself and also be represented by an attorney, and pro se filings by represented parties are therefore unauthorized and without effect.” Tolbert v. Toole, 296 Ga. 357, 363 (3) (767 SE2d 24) (2014) (citation and punctuation omitted). Here, the record shows that McElroy was represented by counsel when the trial court entered sentence on June 30, 2022, and nothing in the record indicates that counsel either withdrew or was relieved from representing McElroy when he filed his pro se notice of appeal on July 25, 2022. See White v. State, 302 Ga. 315, 318 (2) (806 SE2d 489) (2017) (recognizing that defense counsel’s duties toward a client extend for at least the 30 days after the entry of judgment, the time during which a notice of appeal may be filed). Accordingly, McElroy’s pro se notice of appeal is a legal nullity, and this Court is without jurisdiction to consider this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED. See Soberanis v. State, 345 Ga. App. 403, 405 (812 SE2d 800) (2018).

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 02/10/2023 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.