Mark Kerlin v. Carter Brown

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ June 15, 2015

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A15A1792. MARK KERLIN v. CARTER BROWN, et al.

The superior court refused prison inmate Mark Kerlin’s request to proceed in forma pauperis and denied the filing of his civil complaint against Carter Brown, City of Lafayette, and County of Walker. Kerlin then filed this direct appeal. We, however, lack jurisdiction.

Because Kerlin is incarcerated, his appeal is controlled by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, OCGA § 42-12-1 et seq. Under OCGA § 42-12-8, an appeal of a civil action filed by a prisoner “shall be as provided in Code Section 5-6-35.” And under OCGA § 5-6-35, the party wishing to appeal must file an application for discretionary appeal to the appropriate appellate court. Because a prisoner has no right of direct appeal in civil cases, we lack jurisdiction to consider this direct appeal from the superior court’s order. See Jones v. Townsend, 267 Ga. 489 (480 SE2d 24) (1997). This appeal is therefore DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 06/15/2015

Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 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.