Treshia Vernetta Dave v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: December 20, 2021
• Docket: A21A1585
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ December 17, 2021

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A21A1585. DAVE v. THE STATE.

Following a hearing, the trial court terminated Treshia Vernetta Dave’s participation in a mental health court program and entered a judgment of conviction and sentence that previously had been held in abeyance pending her successful completion of the program. See generally OCGA § 15-1-16 (pertaining to mental health courts). Dave appeals, asserting among other things that the termination proceeding was conducted in violation of certain of her rights under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution and under Article I, Section I, Paragraph XII of the Georgia Constitution.

Dave’s arguments regarding the scope of her constitutional rights in a termination proceeding in an accountability court, such as the mental health court, present issues of first impression. Because the Supreme Court of Georgia has exclusive appellate jurisdiction over novel constitutional questions, see Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. II (1), it appears that jurisdiction over this appeal may lie in the Supreme Court. As the Supreme Court has the ultimate responsibility for determining appellate jurisdiction, see Saxton v. Coastal Dialysis & Med. Clinic, 267 Ga. 177, 178 (476 SE2d 587) (1996), this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 12/17/2021 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.