Michael Darnell Parson v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: July 19, 2018
• Docket: A18A1816
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ July 18, 2018

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A18A1816. MICHAEL DARNELL PARSON v. THE STATE.

A jury convicted Michael Darnell Parson of criminal attempt to commit murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of aggravated battery, three counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of less than one ounce of marijuana. We affirmed his convictions on direct appeal. See Case No. A16A0608 (decided June 21, 2016). In July 2017, Parson filed a motion to vacate, seeking to vacate his conviction due to alleged procedural errors in the composition of the jury pool. The trial court denied his motion on November 13, 2017. Parson filed a notice of appeal on December 19, 2017, to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court transferred the case here. See Case No. S18A0893 (transferred April 16, 2018). We, however, lack jurisdiction. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after entry of an appealable order. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872, 872 (1) (452 SE2d 756) (1995). Here, Parson filed his notice of appeal 36 days after the trial court denied his motion to vacate. Additionally, “a petition to vacate or modify a judgment of conviction is not an appropriate remedy in a criminal case.” Harper v. State, 286 Ga. 216, 218 (1) (686 SE2d 786) (2009). The Supreme Court has explained that such a motion “is not one of the established procedures for challenging the validity of a judgment in a criminal case.” Roberts v. State, 286 Ga. 532, 532 (690 SE2d 150) (2010). Thus, any appeal from an order denying or dismissing such a motion must be dismissed. Id.; Harper, 286 Ga. at 218 (2). Accordingly, for the reasons stated above, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 07/18/2018 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.