Tommy Lee Bell v. State

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ October 03, 2016

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A17A0269. TOMMY LEE BELL v. THE STATE.

In 1999, Tommy Lee Bell was convicted of murder and other crimes, and the Supreme Court affirmed his convictions on appeal. Bell v. State, 278 Ga. 69 (597 SE2d 350) (2004). In 2016, Bell filed an extraordinary motion for new trial, which the trial court denied. Bell now appeals directly to this Court. We, however, lack jurisdiction.

Under our Constitution, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over “[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (8). Because a penalty of death can be imposed for the crime of murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court. See OCGA § 16-5-1 (a), (e) (1); Neal v. State, 290 Ga. 563, 572 (722 SE2d 765) (2012) (Hunstein, C. J., concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524, 524 (1) (322 SE2d 711) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer “all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder”). Accordingly, Bell’s appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 10/03/2016

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.