John W. Long III v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 5, 2015
• Docket: A15A1370
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ April 22, 2015

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A15A1370. JOHN W. LONG, III v. THE STATE.

In 2001, John W. Long, III was convicted of child molestation and aggravated sexual battery. We affirmed his convictions in an unpublished opinion. Long v. State, Case No. A02A0108 (May 23, 2002). Thirteen years later, Long filed a pro se extraordinary motion for new trial, asserting that his conviction and sentence for child molestation is void because it should have merged into his aggravated sexual battery conviction. The trial court denied the motion, and Long filed both this direct appeal and an application for discretionary appeal. We denied his application for discretionary appeal, Long v. State, Application No. A15D0307 (denied April 1, 2015), and we hereby dismiss his direct appeal for lack of jurisdiction. An order denying an extraordinary motion for new trial may only be appealed by discretionary application. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (7). Thus, Long is not entitled to a direct appeal from the order he challenges, and this direct appeal is hereby DISMISSED.1

1 Moreover, we note that the denial of Long’s application for discretionary appeal was an adjudication on the merits. Therefore, this appeal is also barred by the doctrine of res judicata. See Northwest Social & Civic Club v. Franklin, 276 Ga. 859, 860 (583 SE2d 858) (2003); Hook v. Bergen, 286 Ga. App. 258, 261 (1) (649 SE2d 313) (2007). Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 04/22/2015 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.