Leonardo Rayner v. Marsha Thomas, Clerk

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 11, 2018
• Docket: A18A1604
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 03, 2018

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A18A1604. LEONARDO RAYNER v. MARSHA THOMAS, CLERK.

Prison inmate Leonardo Rayner filed a mandamus petition seeking an order compelling the Clerk of the Appling County Superior Court to provide him with records of certain grand jury proceedings. The trial court dismissed Rayner’s petition for writ of mandamus. Rayner filed this direct appeal. We, however, lack jurisdiction. Ordinarily, judgments and orders granting or refusing to grant mandamus relief are directly appealable. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (7). Because Rayner 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). Rayner’s failure to follow the required appellate procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED. See Jones v. Townsend, 267 Ga. 489, 490 (480 SE2d 24) (1997). Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/03/2018 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.