Joshua Thomas Adkins v. Patricia Elizabeth Murphy

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: March 8, 2023
• Docket: A23A1065
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ March 08, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A23A1065. JOSHUA THOMAS ADKINS v. PATRICIA ELIZABETH MURPHY.

Joshua Thomas Adkins and Patricia Elizabeth Murphy were divorced pursuant to a final judgment and decree of divorce entered on July 16, 2019. Adkins filed a direct appeal from the final order on August 16, 2019. 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). Adkins’s notice of appeal is untimely, as it was filed 31 days after entry of the final judgment. Furthermore, appeals from “judgments or orders in divorce, alimony, and other domestic relations cases” must be made by application for discretionary appeal. OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (2). “Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Hair Restoration Specialists v. State of Georgia, 360 Ga. App. 901, 903 (862 SE2d 564) (2021) (punctuation omitted). Thus, Adkins’s failure to follow the discretionary appeals procedure also serves to deprive us of jurisdiction over this direct appeal. Given our lack of jurisdiction, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/08/2023 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.