James Looney v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 6, 2022
• Docket: A22A1299
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 06, 2022

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A22A1299. LOONEY v. THE STATE.

In 2003, James Jeffery Looney pled guilty to aggravated child molestation, incest, and child molestation. In 2020, Looney filed a motion for out-of-time appeal. After the trial court granted that motion, Looney filed an application for discretionary appeal in this Court. Looney’s application was granted, and he subsequently filed a notice of appeal. The Supreme Court of Georgia, however, recently decided in Cook v. State, ___ Ga. ___ (Case No. S21A1270; decided March 15, 2022), that there “is no legal authority for motions for out-of-time appeal in trial courts.” Id. at ___ (5). And that holding applies “to all cases that are currently on direct review or otherwise not yet final.” Id. Accordingly, the trial court’s order granting Looney’s motion for an out-of- time appeal is vacated, and this case is remanded for the entry of an order dismissing Looney’s motion. See Rutledge v. State, ___ Ga. ___ (Case No. S21A1036; decided March 15, 2022) (as a result of Cook decision, defendant had no right to file a motion for out-of-time appeal in the trial court). In addition, because Looney’s motion for out-of-time appeal was granted in this case, the trial court is directed to vacate any subsequent rulings on filings that the court lacked jurisdiction to decide without the granted out-of-time appeal.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/06/2022 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.