James E. Lott Jr. v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: October 6, 2015
• Docket: A16D0043
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ September 30, 2015

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A16D0043. JAMES E. LOTT, JR. v. THE STATE.

James Lott, Jr. pled guilty to murder on March 27, 2009. On June 3, 2015, the trial court denied Lott’s pro se motion for an out-of-time appeal, for new trial, and for deposition of a person confined in prison. On September 9, 2015, Lott filed an application for discretionary appeal, challenging the trial court’s order. We lack jurisdiction. Under our Constitution, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over “[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed.” See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (8). Because a penalty of death can be imposed for the crime of murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court. See OCGA § 17-10-30 (b); Neal v. State, 290 Ga. 563, 572 (722 SE2d 765) (2012) (Hunstein, C. J., concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524 (1) (322 SE2d 711) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer “all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder”). The Supreme Court’s jurisdiction over murder cases includes appeals from orders resolving post-judgment motions in such cases. See Simpson v. State, 292 Ga. 764 (740 SE2d 124) (2013). For these reasons, Lott’s case is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 09/30/2015 Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 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.