In the Interest of E. M. F., Children (Grandmother)

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: November 7, 2023
• Docket: A24D0122
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ November 07, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A24D0122. IN THE INTEREST OF E. M. F. et al., CHILDREN (GRANDMOTHER).

This appeal arises from the dependency action regarding minor child E. M. F. and her younger siblings. On July 25, 2023, the juvenile court entered an order that terminated the parental rights of E. M. F’s step-father to the younger children.1 In the same order, the juvenile court found that the maternal grandmother of all of the children, Dawn Cooley, who sought to intervene in the dependency action, was not an appropriate placement and denied her request for custody and visitation. Instead, the juvenile court continued placement of the children with the Department of Family and Children Services (“DFCS”) to facilitate their adoptions. Cooley filed an application for discretionary appeal in the Supreme Court of Georgia, which transferred the case to this Court. See Cases No. S24D0113 (Oct. 5, 2023); S24T0052 (Aug. 22, 2023) (granting Cooley an extension of time to file her application). Appeals from orders terminating parental rights must normally proceed by discretionary application. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (12). But Cooley does not challenge the termination of the father’s rights. Rather, she challenges the denial of her request for custody and visitation and the award of custody to DFCS. “An order within a [dependency] proceeding deciding temporary custody of the child is a ‘final order,’ within the meaning of OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1), from which a direct appeal lies.” In the Interest of A. T., 309 Ga. App. 822, 824 (711 SE2d 382) (2011) (citation

1 The mother’s parental rights to all of the children were terminated in May 2023, and she is not a party to this appeal. and punctuation omitted); Vines v. Vines, 292 Ga. 550, 551 (2) (739 SE2d 374) (2013) (visitation rights are a part of custody). See also Voyles v. Voyles, 301 Ga. 44, 47 (799 SE2d 160) (2017) (“the proper appellate procedure to employ depends upon the issue involved in the appeal”). Accordingly, the order Cooley seeks to appeal is directly appealable. This Court will grant an otherwise timely discretionary application if the lower court’s order is subject to direct appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (j). Accordingly, this application is hereby GRANTED. Cooley shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the trial court. The clerk of the trial court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the record transmitted to the Court of Appeals.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 11/07/2023 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.