Kenneth Howard v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

January 21, 2014 ATLANTA,__________________

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A14A0850. KENNETH HOWARD v. THE STATE.

In March 2008, Kenneth Howard was convicted of several offenses, including kidnapping. Years later, Howard filed an extraordinary motion for new trial, which the trial court denied on October 22, 2013. On December 13, 2013, Howard filed a notice of direct appeal from the trial court’s order. We lack jurisdiction for two reasons.

First, to be timely, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after entry of an appealable order. 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 Howard filed his notice of appeal 52 days after the order was entered, his appeal is untimely and must be dismissed.

Second, even if Howard had filed a timely notice of appeal, orders denying extraordinary motions for new trial must be appealed by application for discretionary appeal. 1 OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (7); Balkcom v. State, 227 Ga. App. 327, 329 (489 SE2d

1 Howard filed an application for discretionary appeal, but the application was dismissed as untimely. See A14D0158, dismissed Dec. 23, 2013.

129) (1997). Under these circumstances, we lack jurisdiction to consider this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 01/21/2014 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.