John Timothy Mons v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: October 21, 2020
• Docket: A21A0336
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 13, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A21A0336. JOHN TIMOTHY MONS v. THE STATE.

In July 2019, John Timothy Mons pled guilty to two counts of smash and grab burglary and one count of attempt to commit smash and grab burglary. In August 2019, Mons filed, through counsel, a motion to withdraw guilty plea. On February 14, 2020, the trial court issued an order stating that Mons, through counsel, withdrew the motion to withdraw guilty plea. Mons then filed a pro se notice of appeal of that order. We lack jurisdiction. “A criminal defendant in Georgia does not have the right to represent himself and also be represented by an attorney, and pro se filings by represented parties are therefore unauthorized and without effect.” Tolbert v. Toole, 296 Ga. 357, 363 (3) (767 SE2d 24) (2014) (punctuation omitted); accord White v. State, 302 Ga. 315, 319 (2) (806 SE2d 489) (2017) (the defendant’s pro se motions to withdraw his guilty pleas were legal nullities because he was represented by counsel when he made them). “A formal withdrawal of counsel cannot be accomplished until after the trial court issues an order permitting the withdrawal. Until such an order properly is made and entered, no formal withdrawal can occur and counsel remains counsel of record.” Tolbert, 296 Ga. at 362 (3) (punctuation omitted). Here, the record contains no indication that the trial court has relieved Mons’s counsel of his representation. Consequently, Mons’s pro se notice of appeal is a legal nullity, and this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. See Tolbert, 296 Ga. at 362-363 (3).

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 10/13/2020 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.