Maurice Dewayne Conner v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: May 4, 2026
• Docket: A26A1829
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 04, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A1829. MAURICE DEWAYNE CONNER v. THE STATE.

A jury found Maurice Dewayne Conner guilty of participating in criminal street gang activity, conspiracy to commit a crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On August 29, 2014, the trial court sentenced him to 30 years in prison. Although the record contains no motion for new trial, on March 24, 2025, Conner filed an amended motion for new trial.1 The trial court denied the motion on August 4, 2025, and Conner filed a notice of appeal on August 5, 2025. We, however, lack jurisdiction. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the judgment or trial court order sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-38(a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer appellate jurisdiction on this Court. Davis v. State, 330 Ga. App. 711, 711 (769 SE2d 133) (2015). Although the filing of a motion for a new trial generally extends the deadline for filing a notice of appeal, see OCGA § 5-6-38(a), an untimely motion for a new trial does not extend the time for filing an appeal. Davis, 330 Ga. App. at 712. To be timely, a motion for a new trial must be made “within 30 days of the entry of the judgment on the verdict.” OCGA § 5-5-40 (a).

1 In November 2021, Conner filed a motion for a conformed order granting a motion for new trial, seeking to adopt the motion of a co-defendant. We are unaware of any authority for the filing of such a motion. In any event, the trial court denied the motion on April 5, 2024. Here, Conner’s only motion seeking a new trial was filed on March 25, 2025, over 10 years after entry of his sentence. Under these circumstances, we lack jurisdiction to consider the trial court’s order purporting to deny the motion for new trial, and this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/04/2026 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.