Terrance Dominique Callen v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: August 20, 2020
• Docket: A21A0069
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ August 17, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A21A0069. TERRANCE DOMINIQUE CALLEN v. THE STATE.

On January 27, 2020, the trial court entered an order denying Terrance Dominique Callen’s petition under OCGA § 42-1-19 to be released from the sex offender registry requirements. On March 5, 2020, Callen filed a notice of direct appeal to this Court. We lack jurisdiction for two reasons. First, under OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (5.2), “[a]ppeals from decisions of superior courts granting or denying petitions for release pursuant to Code Section 42-1-19” must be taken by application for discretionary appeal. “Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Smoak v. Dept. of Human Resources, 221 Ga. App. 257, 257 (471 SE2d 60) (1996). Callen’s failure to follow the required appellate procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this direct appeal. Second, even if Callen had a right of direct appeal here, this appeal is untimely, as it was filed more than 30 days after entry of the trial court’s order. See OCGA § 5-6-38 (a) (notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of appealable judgment); Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872, 872 (1) (452 SE2d 756) (1995) (timely notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on an appellate court). For these reasons, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 08/17/2020 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.