Larry Bowling v. Homer Bryson

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: June 4, 2018
• Docket: A18A1512
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ May 30, 2018

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A18A1512. LARRY BOWLING v. HOMER BRYSON.

Prison inmate Larry Bowling filed a mandamus petition seeking credit for time served on house arrest while awaiting trial. The respondent filed a motion to dismiss the petition, which the trial court granted. Bowling filed this direct appeal, and the respondent has filed a motion to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Ordinarily, judgments and orders granting or refusing to grant mandamus relief are directly appealable. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (7). Because Bowling is incarcerated, however, his appeal is controlled by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, OCGA § 42-12-1 et seq. Under OCGA § 42-12-8, “[a]ppeals of all actions filed by prisoners shall be as provided in Code Section 5-6-35,” the discretionary appeals statute. “[C]ompliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Fabe v. Floyd, 199 Ga. App. 322, 332 (1) (405 SE2d 265) (1991). Bowling’s failure to follow the required appellate procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this appeal. See Jones v. Townsend, 267 Ga. 489, 490 (480 SE2d 24) (1997). Accordingly, the respondent’s motion to dismiss is GRANTED, and this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/30/2018 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.