Henry Eric Johnson v. State of Georgia

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,_________________ July 19, 2012

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A12A2203. HENRY ERIC JOHNSON v. THE STATE.

Henry Eric Johnson was convicted of rape and other crimes, and we affirmed his convictions on appeal. Johnson v. State, 222 Ga. App. 722 (475 SE2d 918) (1996). He is currently serving a life sentence. In 2010, Johnson filled out a preprinted “Inmate Form for Civil Action,” indicating that he wished to sue the Chatham County Superior Court and others for “Writ of Errors, Requesting a New Trial and Dismissal of All Charges.” In an order entered on April 9, 2010, the trial court ruled that the proposed action was frivolous and denied the filing of it under OCGA § 9-15-2 (d). Forty-two days later, Johnson filed of a notice of appeal to this Court. Assuming without deciding that Johnson properly proceeded by direct appeal rather than by discretionary application,1 his appeal is untimely. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order on appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. See Couch v. United Paperworkers Intl. Union, 224 Ga. App. 721 (482 SE2d 704) (1997). Because Johnson’s notice of appeal is untimely, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

1 OCGA § 42-12-8 requires that an appeal of a civil action filed by a prisoner “shall be as provided in Code Section 5-6-35.” Under OCGA § 5-6-35, the party wishing to appeal must file an application for discretionary appeal to the appropriate appellate court. Although Johnson used a form provided to inmates wishing to file civil actions, he is actually seeking to challenge his criminal convictions.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 07/19/2012 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.