Jose Copeland v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: February 11, 2020
• Docket: A20A0908
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ February 11, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A20A0908. JOSE COPELAND v. THE STATE.

Jose Copeland pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. He then filed a pro se notice of appeal. “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.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Tolbert v. Toole, 296 Ga. 357, 363 (3) (767 SE2d 24) (2014). Here, Copeland was represented by counsel below, and there is nothing in the record indicating that the attorney either withdrew or was relieved from representation. See White v. State, 302 Ga. 315, 318 (2) (806 SE2d 489) (2017) (“defense counsel’s duties toward their clients extend for at least the 30 days after the entry of judgment when a notice of appeal may be filed”). Under these circumstances, Copeland’s pro se notice of appeal is a nullity. See Soberanis v. State, 345 Ga. App. 403, 405 (812 SE2d 800) (2018). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED. To the extent Copeland’s right to appeal was frustrated by his counsel’s failure to file a timely notice of appeal, he may be entitled to an out-of-time appeal. See Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872, 875-876 (2) (452 SE2d 756) (1995). He is therefore informed of the following in accordance with Rowland:

This appeal has been dismissed because your attorney failed to file a notice of appeal. If you still wish to appeal, you may petition the trial court for leave to file an out-of-time appeal. If the trial court grants your request, you will have 30 days from the entry of that order to file a notice of appeal referencing your conviction. If the trial court denies your request, you will have 30 days from the entry of that order to file a notice of appeal referencing the denial of your request for an out-of- time appeal.

The clerk of court is DIRECTED to send a copy of this order to Copeland as well as to Copeland’s attorney, who is also DIRECTED to send a copy to Copeland.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 02/11/2020 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.