Stephen L Rucker v. Vance Laughlin, Warden

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: July 30, 2025
• Docket: A25D0497
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ July 30, 2025

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A25D0497. STEPHEN L. RUCKER v. VANCE LAUGHLIN, WARDEN et al.

Stephen L. Rucker was convicted of felony murder and sentenced to life in prison, and the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed on direct appeal. Rucker v. State, 293 Ga. 116 (744 SE2d 36) (2013). Rucker filed a habeas corpus petition, which the trial court denied. He filed a motion to set aside that ruling, which the trial court denied. He then filed this application for discretionary review. We lack jurisdiction for two reasons. First, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over “[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed,” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (8), and a penalty of death may be imposed for the crime of felony murder. See OCGA § 16-5-1 (c), (e) (1); see also Hart v. State, Ga. , (1) (Case No. S25A0136, June 24, 2025) (even in murder cases in which the death penalty was not sought, the Supreme Court has opted to exercise its jurisdiction to review all such cases). Second, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over all habeas cases. See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (4). Thus, this application is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 07/30/2025 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.