Sunil Shamji Jungawalla v. State

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ July 23, 2015

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A15A2053. SUNIL SHAMJI JUNGAWALLA v. THE STATE.

Sunil Shamji Jungawalla was convicted of criminal attempt to commit aggravated child molestation, criminal attempt to commit child molestation, and computer and electronic child exploitation. He filed a timely motion for new trial, which the trial court denied on April 29, 2015. Jungawalla filed his notice of appeal on June 1, 2015. This notice of appeal is untimely.

To be timely, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order on appeal. See 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. See Couch v. United Paperworkers Intl. Union, 224 Ga. App. 721 (482 SE2d 704) (1997). Because Jungawalla filed his notice of appeal 33 days after entry of the order he seeks to appeal, it is untimely. Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

We note, however, that Jungawalla was represented by counsel at trial and may be entitled to pursue an out-of-time appeal. He is therefore informed of the following in accordance with Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872 (452 SE2d 756) (1995): This appeal has been dismissed because you failed to file a timely notice of appeal. If you still wish to appeal, you may petition the trial court for leave to file an out-of-time appeal. If the trial court grants your request, you will have 30 days from the entry of that order to file a notice of appeal referencing your conviction. If the trial court denies your request, you will have 30 days from the entry of that order to file a notice of appeal referencing the denial of your request for an out-of-time appeal.

The Clerk of Court is directed to send a copy of this order to Jungawalla and to Jungawalla’s attorney, and the latter is also directed to send a copy to Jungawalla.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 07/23/2015

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.