Fields Benjamin Chapman v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: January 17, 2019
• Docket: A19I0141
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ January 17, 2019

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A19I0141. FIELDS BENJAMIN CHAPMAN et al. v. THE STATE.

Fields Benjamin Chapman, Andrew Haynes, and Damon Avery Johnson seek immediate review of the trial court’s order denying their motion to quash and plea in abatement. The record shows that Judge Albert Collier denied the motion on December 6, 2018. The appellants obtained a certificate of immediate review signed by Judge John Worcester on December 11, 2018, and they timely filed this application for interlocutory appeal. We, however, lack jurisdiction. Under OCGA § 5-6-34 (b), a party may apply for interlocutory appellate review “[w]here the trial judge in rendering an order, decision, or judgment, not otherwise subject to direct appeal, . . . certifies within ten days of entry thereof that the order, decision, or judgment is of such importance to the case that immediate review should be had[.]” In accordance with the plain language of the statute, “the same trial judge who entered the order in question must issue the certificate of immediate review.”1 Mauer v. Parker Fibernet, LLC, 306 Ga. App. 160, 162 (701 SE2d 599) (2010). Because the certificate of immediate review submitted by the appellants is

1 This Court has recognized a limited exception to this rule where evidence shows that the trial judge was unavailable to execute the certificate or the judge signing the certificate of immediate review was “the trial judge” at the time she signed the certificate of immediate review. See Hourin v. State, 301 Ga. 835, 836-837 (1) (804 SE2d 388) (2017); Freemon v. Dubroca, 177 Ga. App. 745, 745 (1) (341 SE2d 276) (1986); see also Thorpe v. Russell, 274 Ga. 781, 781-782 (559 SE2d 432) (2002). The appellants, however, have made no showing that an exception applies in this case. invalid, it does not confer jurisdiction upon this Court. Accordingly, this application for interlocutory appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 01/17/2019 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.