Ebenezer Kayo Buwee v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: October 31, 2024
• Docket: A25A0496
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 31, 2024

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A25A0496. EBENEZER KAYO BUWEE v. THE STATE.

In 2018, a jury found Ebenezer Kayo Buwee guilty of aggravated child molestation and child molestation. Buwee was sentenced to life, to serve 40 years in prison. His conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal. See Buwee v. State, 359 Ga. App. 321 (857 SE2d 498) (2021). Buwee later filed a “Motion for Void Sentence, Failure to Arraign,” arguing that the trial court never arraigned him and thus his convictions should be vacated. The trial court denied the motion on August 22, 2024, and Buwee filed this appeal on October 1, 2024. We, however, lack jurisdiction. Regardless of nomenclature, Buwee’s underlying motion seeks to challenge the validity of his convictions. See Roberts v. State, 286 Ga. 532, 532 (690 SE2d 150) (2010). A motion seeking to challenge an allegedly invalid or void judgment of conviction “is not one of the established procedures for challenging the validity of a judgment in a criminal case,” and an appeal from the denial of such a motion is subject to dismissal. Id. Moreover, even if a direct appeal were proper, Buwee’s appeal is untimely. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the judgment or trial court order sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). Here, however, Buwee filed his notice of appeal 40 days after entry of the trial court’s order. The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. Ebeling v. State, 355 Ga. App. 469, 469 (844 SE2d 518) (2020). Accordingly, for these reasons, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. See Roberts, 286 Ga. at 532.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 10/31/2024 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.