Leonardo Rayner v. Sherry Bland, Clerk

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 2, 2018
• Docket: A18A1482
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ April 20, 2018

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A18A1482. LEONARDO RAYNER v. SHERRY BLAND, CLERK.

Prison inmate Leonardo Rayner attempted to file a mandamus petition seeking an order compelling the Clerk of the Tattnall County Superior Court to provide him with records of certain grand jury proceedings. The trial court screened the complaint, pursuant to OCGA § 9-15-2 (d), and denied it for filing. Rayner appeals directly to this Court, but we 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,____________________ 04/20/2018 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.