In the Interest of G. L., a Child (Father)

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ June 01, 2022

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A22D0389. IN THE INTEREST OF G. L., A CHILD (FATHER).

The father of minor child G. L. has filed a timely application for discretionary review of the juvenile court’s order finding G. L. to be a dependent child, awarding temporary custody of G. L. to the Monroe County Division of Family and Children Services, suspending visitation between the father and G. L., and entering a restraining order prohibiting the father from contacting G. L.1 Although an application is ordinarily required to appeal from an order granting a temporary restraining order, see OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (9), “[a]n 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, n. 3 (711 SE2d 382) (2011) (punctuation omitted); accord In the Interest of S. J., 270 Ga. App. 598, 608 (1) (a) (607 SE2d 225) (2004). Because the father challenges the dependency order, not merely the restraining order, it appears that he is entitled to a direct appeal. See Ferguson v. Composite State Bd. of Med. Examiners, 275 Ga. 255, 257 (1) (564 SE2d 715) (2002) (“Where both the direct and discretionary appeal statutes are implicated, it is always the underlying subject matter that will control whether the appeal must be brought pursuant to OCGA § 5-6-34 or OCGA § 5-6-35.”). Under OCGA § 5-6-35 (j), this Court will grant a timely discretionary application if the lower court’s order is subject to direct appeal. Accordingly, this

1 The father initially filed his application in the Supreme Court of Georgia, which transferred it to this Court. See Case No. S22D0910 (Apr. 25, 2022). application is hereby GRANTED. The father shall have 10 days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the trial court, if he has not already done so. The clerk of the juvenile 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,____________________ 06/01/2022 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.