Tiram D. Lewis v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: February 22, 2018
• Docket: A18A1015
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ February 08, 2018

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A18A1015. TIRAM D. LEWIS v. THE STATE.

Tiram Lewis pled guilty to attempted armed robbery, and the trial court entered his judgment of conviction on February 13, 2015. Lewis filed a pro se notice of appeal on November 28, 2017. We lack jurisdiction. To be timely, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order sought to be appealed. 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 Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872, 872 (1) (452 SE2d 756) (1995). Because Lewis filed his notice of appeal more than two years 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 Lewis was represented by counsel before the trial court and may be entitled to pursue an out-of-time appeal. He therefore is informed of the following in accordance with Rowland, 264 Ga. at 875-876 (2): 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 Lewis and to Lewis’s attorney, and the latter also is DIRECTED to send a copy to Lewis.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 02/08/2018 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.