Laura McDuffie v. State

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ August 01, 2017

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A17A2140. LAURA MCDUFFIE v. THE STATE.

Laura McDuffie pled guilty to armed robbery in 2013. She filed a motion to modify her sentence, and the trial court denied the motion on December 11, 2014. McDuffie filed this pro se direct appeal from the court’s order on June 8, 2017. We lack jurisdiction.1 Pretermitting whether McDuffie has a right of direct appeal from the trial court’s order denying the motion to modify her sentence, we lack jurisdiction because her appeal is untimely. Under OCGA § 5-6-38 (a), a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after entry of the order to be appealed. The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. Veasley v. State, 272 Ga. 837, 838 (537 SE2d 42) (2000). Here, McDuffie filed her notice of appeal years after the trial court entered its order. Accordingly, this appeal is untimely and is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 08/01/2017 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.

1 This Court affirmed the denial of McDuffie’s motion for an out-of-time appeal. McDuffie v. State, Case No. A17A0012 (decided April 5, 2017).