Geovanni Perez v. State

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 24, 2022

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A23A0495. GEOVANNI PEREZ v. THE STATE.

A jury found Geovanni Perez guilty of multiple offenses, including felony murder. Following the denial of a motion for new trial, Perez filed this appeal. We, however, lack jurisdiction. The Supreme Court 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 murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court. See OCGA § 16-5-1 (e) (1); Neal v. State, 290 Ga. 563, 572 (722 SE2d 765) (2012) (Hunstein, C. J., concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524, 524 (1) (322 SE2d 711) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer to the Supreme Court “all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder”), overruled in part on other grounds as recognized in Elliott v. State, 305 Ga. 179, 205 (III) (C) (i) (824 SE2d 265) (2019). Accordingly, appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 10/24/2022 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.