Randall Thomas Belcher v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: April 28, 2022
• Docket: A22A1191
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ April 28, 2022

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A22A1191. RANDALL THOMAS BELCHER v. THE STATE.

In 2012, Randall Thomas Belcher was convicted of burglary, criminal use of an article with altered identification mark, and four counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was sentenced as a recidivist to 20 years in incarceration. In an unpublished opinion, we affirmed Belcher’s conviction on appeal. See Belcher v. State, (Case No. A13A2355, decided March 21, 2014). In 2021, Belcher filed a pro se motion to vacate his sentence.1 On September 24, 2021, the trial court entered an order denying that motion. Belcher filed a notice of appeal from that order on October 26, 2021. 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). “Compliance with the statutory deadline for filing a notice of appeal is an ‘absolute requirement’ to confer jurisdiction on an appellate court.” Collier v. State, 307 Ga. 363, 371 (2) (834 SE2d 769) (2019) (citation omitted). Here, however, Belcher filed his notice of appeal 32 days after entry of the trial court’s order denying his motion. Accordingly, we are without jurisdiction to consider Belcher’s appeal, and it is hereby DISMISSED.

1 This appeal represents Belcher’s second attempt to challenge his sentence. In 2017, Belcher filed a motion to set aside his sentence. The trial court denied that motion, and this Court dismissed Belcher’s appeal of the trial court’s order for lack of jurisdiction. Belcher v. State, Case No. A17A1186, decided March 15, 2017. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 04/28/2022 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.