Terry Lee Battle v. Walter Berry, Warden

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ June 30, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A20A1895. TERRY LEE BATTLE v. WALTER BERRY, WARDEN.

Prison inmate Terry Lee Battle filed a civil action against Warden Walter Berry. The trial court dismissed the action, and Battle filed this direct appeal. We lack jurisdiction.

Battle is incarcerated, so his appeal is controlled by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, OCGA § 42-12-1 et seq. Under OCGA § 42-12-8, an appeal in a civil action filed by a prisoner “shall be as provided in Code Section 5-6-35.” And under OCGA § 5-6-35, the party wishing to appeal must file an application for discretionary appeal to the appropriate appellate court. Because a prisoner has no right of direct appeal in civil cases, we lack jurisdiction to consider this direct appeal from the superior court’s order. See Jones v. Townsend, 267 Ga. 489, 490 (480 SE2d 24) (1997). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 06/30/2020

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.