STEPHEN HUGHES v. GWINNETT COUNTY

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: October 8, 2024
• Docket: A25E0028
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 08, 2024

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A25E0028. STEPHEN HUGHES v. GWINNETT COUNTY et al.

On September 20, 2024, the trial court entered an order dismissing Stephen Hughes’s complaint for lack of standing. Hughes’s complaint sought a declaratory judgment that the charter for the newly created City of Mulberry is unconstitutional and injunctive relief canceling the upcoming election for city council members. Subsequently, Hughes filed a notice of appeal directed to the Supreme Court. He also filed an emergency petition to expedite his appeal, such that his constitutional challenges to Senate Bill 333 (“SB 333”)1 and the resulting Mulberry city council elections can be resolved prior to those November 2024 elections. Finding no basis for the exercise of its jurisdiction, the Supreme Court transferred the matter to this Court. Hughes has not shown that expediting his appeal is necessary to preserve jurisdiction of the appeal or to prevent the contested issue from becoming moot. See Court of Appeals Rule 40 (b). Indeed, Hughes concedes that the case will not become moot after the November 2024 elections, but contends that “time is still of the essence” because the City of Mulberry will waste taxpayer time and money until SB 333 is declared unconstitutional. However, because Hughes’s petition does not meet the criteria set forth in Court of Appeals Rule 40 (b), which provides that this Court will exercise “sparingly” its inherent power to “issue such orders or give such

1 SB 333 provides for the creation and charter of the City of Mulberry within unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia. Voters approved the creation of the city in the general primary election in May 2024. direction to the trial court as may be necessary to preserve jurisdiction of an appeal or to prevent the contested issue from becoming moot[,]” the petition is hereby DENIED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 10/08/2024 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.