Justice Little v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 22, 2020
• Docket: A20A1494
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 19, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A20A1494. JUSTICE LITTLE v. THE STATE.

Justice Little was sentenced as a first offender. Following a hearing, the trial court revoked Little’s first offender status, and Little appeals. We, however, lack jurisdiction. First, because the underlying subject matter of Little’s appeal is the revocation of his first offender probation, he was required to file an application for discretionary appeal to obtain review in this Court. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (5); Jones v. State, 322 Ga. App. 269, n. 2 (745 SE2d 1) (2013); Zamora v. State, 226 Ga. App. 105 (485 SE2d 214) (1997). His failure to do so deprives us of jurisdiction over this appeal. Second, Little’s pro se application is a nullity because he appears to be represented by counsel in the trial court. See Tolbert v. Toole, 296 Ga. 357, 363 (3) (767 SE2d 24) (2014) (“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.”); accord White v. State, 302 Ga. 315, 319 (2) (806 SE2d 489) (2017); Jacobsen v. Haldi, 210 Ga. App. 817, 818-819 (1) (437 SE2d 819) (1993). For these reasons, we are unable to entertain this direct appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/19/2020 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.