Joseph Parks v. Tracy Alvord

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,_________________ May 07, 2012

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A12D0362. JOSEPH RAYMOND PARKS, JR. v. TRACY ALVORD ET AL.

Joseph Raymond Parks seeks discretionary review of the superior court’s order affirming an agency decision that classified him as a “sexually dangerous predator” under OCGA § 42-1-14. Among other arguments raised below, Parks asserted that his OCGA § 42-1-14 classification violates the constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws. The trial court rejected Parks’s constitutional challenge, and this application for discretionary review followed. In his application, Parks again raises an ex post facto claim. The Supreme Court “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 (1) (469 SE2d 22) (1996); Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Para. II. Although we have jurisdiction to apply unquestioned and unambiguous constitutional provisions, we can resolve a constitutional challenge to a state law only “if the law has been held to be constitutional against the same attack being made.” City of Decatur v. Dekalb County, 284 Ga. 434, 436 (2) (668 SE2d 247) (2008). It does not appear that the particular constitutional attack raised by Parks has been addressed or considered by the appellate courts.1 The Supreme Court, therefore,

1 The Supreme Court has addressed the constitutionality of Georgia’s sexual offender registration provisions in several contexts, including whether the criminal penalty for not registering under OCGA § 42-1-12 is an improper ex post facto law.

has jurisdiction over this matter, and Parks’s application is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 05/07/2012 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.

See Frazier v. State, 284 Ga. 638, 638-639 (1) (668 SE2d 646) (2008). The Court has not, however, addressed the ex post facto challenge at issue here or the constitutionality of OCGA § 42-1-14.