Victoria Jean Brown v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia
• Decided: January 9, 2026
• Docket: A26A0933
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ January 09, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A0933. VICTORIA JEAN BROWN v. THE STATE.

On October 29, 2025, Victoria Jean Brown entered a guilty plea to possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug related objects. The next day, the trial court entered judgment, imposing a sentence of three years. Brown filed a timely notice of appeal. This Court, however, lacks jurisdiction. Effective May 14, 2025, OCGA § 5-6-35(a)(5.3) requires defendants to file applications for discretionary review for “[d]irect appeals from guilty pleas.” Thus, to appeal the judgment resulting from the entry of her guilty plea, Brown was required to file an application for discretionary appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-35(a)(5.3); see also Hester v. State, __ Ga. App. __ (2025), A26A0903 (Ga. App. Dec. 11, 2025). Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional. Smoak v. Dep’t of Human Res., 221 Ga. App. 257, 257 (471 SE2d 60) (1996). Brown’s failure to follow the proper procedure deprives this Court of jurisdiction over this appeal, which we hereby DISMISS.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 01/09/2026 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.