Kelly Roberts v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ March 19, 2015 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A15A1168. KELLY ROBERTS v. THE STATE. Kelly Roberts pled guilty to felony murder, and he was sentenced to life in prison. Roberts then filed a direct appeal in this Court. Under our Constitution, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over “[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed.” See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (8). Because a penalty of death can be imposed for the crime of murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court. See OCGA § 17-10-30 (b); Neal v. State, 290 Ga. 563, 572 ( 722 SE2d 765 ) (2012) (Hunstein, J., concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524 ( 322 SE2d 711 ) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer “all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder”); McCrary v. State, 215 Ga. 887 (1) ( 114 SE2d 133 ) (1960). Accordingly, Roberts’s appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition. See McCrary, supra. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 03/19/2015 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.