Josiah Achee v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: June 22, 2026
• Docket: A26A2238
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ June 22, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A2238. JOSIAH ACHEE v. THE STATE.

On March 18, 2026, while represented by counsel, Josiah Achee pled guilty to rape and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He later filed a pro se notice of appeal and motion to withdraw the guilty plea.1 The trial court entered an order exercising its discretion to recognize the pro se pleadings as valid even though Achee was still formally represented by counsel. However, the court concluded that the filing of the notice of appeal deprived it of jurisdiction to rule on the motion to withdraw the plea, and it ordered the record transmitted to this Court for appellate review. We lack jurisdiction. Our General Assembly recently amended OCGA § 5-6-35 so that a direct appeal from a guilty plea entered on or after May 14, 2025, must “be initiated by filing an application for discretionary review.” Clark v. State, 378 Ga. App. 111, 111 n.1 (924 SE2d 346) (2025); OCGA § 5-6-35(a)(5.3). “Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Phaneuf v. Anthony, 375 Ga. App. 636, 638 (917 SE2d 191) (2025). But even if Achee had filed a discretionary application, his motion to withdraw his guilty plea remains pending below. Accordingly, to obtain review of his guilty plea and sentence at this juncture, Achee needed to comply with the interlocutory appeals procedure, including obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the trial court. See OCGA § 5-6-34(b); Boyd v. State, 191 Ga. App. 435, 435 (383

1 The superior court clerk’s file-stamp does not indicate the time each document was filed, so we do not know which was filed first. SE2d 906) (1989). See also Joseph v. Ingram, 321 Ga. 559, 563–64 (915 SE2d 877) (2025) (holding that the pendency of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea would render a habeas petition premature). For these reasons, we lack jurisdiction to consider this appeal at this juncture. Accordingly, it is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 06/22/2026 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.