Rebecca Ann Stokes v. State

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ September 03, 2015

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A15A2409. REBECCA ANN STOKES v. THE STATE.

Rebecca Ann Stokes pled guilty to malice murder. She moved to withdraw her plea, and the trial court denied the motion. Stokes then filed this direct appeal. Under our Constitution, however, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over “[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed.” See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (8). Because a penalty of death can be imposed for the crime of murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court. See OCGA § 17-10- 30 (b); Neal v. State, 290 Ga. 563, 572 (722 SE2d 765) (2012) (Hunstein, J., concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524 (322 SE2d 711) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer “all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder”). Accordingly, Stokes’ appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 09/03/2015 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.