Thornley Forrest v. Daytonia Forrest

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: March 13, 2020
• Docket: A20A1262
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ March 06, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A20A1262. THORNLEY FORREST v. DAYTONIA FORREST.

Thornley Forrest filed this direct appeal of the trial court’s order finding him in willful contempt of the parties’ divorce decree. We lack jurisdiction. Appeals from orders entered in domestic relations cases, including orders holding persons in contempt of divorce decrees, must come by application for discretionary review. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (2); see also Norman v. Ault, 287 Ga. 324, 330-331 (6) (695 SE2d 633) (2010); Russo v. Manning, 252 Ga. 155, 155-156 (312 SE2d 319) (1984). “Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Smoak v. Dept. of Human Resources, 221 Ga. App. 257, 257 (471 SE2d 60) (1996). Thornley Forrest’s failure to follow the required appellate procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/06/2020 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.