James Roberts, Jr. v. State

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ December 20, 2022

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A23A0688. JAMES ROBERTS, JR. v. THE STATE.

In March 2012, a jury found James Roberts, Jr. guilty of armed robbery and theft by taking. Roberts filed a timely motion for new trial, which the trial court denied on October 28, 2013. On July 25, 2016, the trial court granted Roberts’s pro se motion for out-of-time appeal, and he filed a pro se notice of appeal on September 2, 2016.1 This Court dismissed the appeal because the notice of appeal was untimely. See Case No. A17A0271 (decided Sept. 29, 2016). In June 2022, new counsel was appointed and the attorney filed a notice of appeal on June 21, 2022, seeking to appeal the October 2013 denial of the motion for new trial. We, however, lack jurisdiction. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the judgment or trial court order sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. Redford v. State, 357 Ga. App. 247, 250 (850 SE2d 447) (2020). Roberts did not file this notice of appeal until June 21, 2022, almost nine years after entry of the trial court’s order.

1 The Supreme Court of Georgia has since held that a trial court is “without jurisdiction to decide [a] motion for out-of-time appeal” on the merits because there is “no legal authority for motions for out-of-time appeal in trial courts.” Cook v. State, 313 Ga. 471, 506 (5) (870 SE2d 758) (2022). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 12/20/2022 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.