Gursimran Walia v. Columbia County

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia March 31, 2025 ATLANTA,____________________ The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A25A1447. GURSIMRAN WALIA v. COLUMBIA COUNTY. Following a trial in magistrate court, Gursimran Walia was convicted of violating Columbia County’s local zoning ordinances. Walia filed a petition for review to the superior court, asserting that insufficient evidence supported his convictions and challenging the constitutionality of the local ordinances. The superior court denied the petition for review, and Walia filed this direct appeal. The Supreme Court of Georgia “has exclusive jurisdiction over all cases involving construction of the Constitution of the State of Georgia and of the United States and all cases in which the constitutionality of a law, ordinance, or constitutional provision has been called into question.” Atlanta Independent School System v. Lane, 266 Ga. 657, 657 (1) ( 469 SE2d 22 ) (1996) (citing Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. II (1)). This exclusive jurisdiction extends “only to constitutional issues that were distinctly ruled on by the trial court and that do not involve the application of unquestioned and unambiguous constitutional provisions or challenges to laws previously held to be constitutional against the same attack.” State v. Davis, 303 Ga. 684, 687 (1) ( 814 SE2d 701 ) (2018) (citation and punctuation omitted). In this case, the superior court expressly rejected Walia’s constitutional challenges to the local ordinances, and it does not appear that the constitutionality of these local ordinances has previously been considered. Therefore, jurisdiction of these appeals may lie in the Supreme Court of Georgia. As that 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 case is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court of Georgia for disposition. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 03/31/2025 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.