Latoya Renee Ortiz v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ July 01, 2021

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A21A1686. LATOYA RENEE ORTIZ v. THE STATE.

Latoya Renee Ortiz pleaded guilty to multiple charges, and, in April 2017, the trial court sentenced her to a total of 40 years with 15 years to serve in prison. In August 2020, Ortiz filed an out-of-time motion to reduce or modify her sentence. On September 1, 2020, the trial court denied the motion, and Ortiz filed both a notice of appeal and an application for discretionary appeal from the order. Both the direct appeal and application were dismissed. See Case Nos. A21A0874 & A21D0228, dismissed March 10, 2021. On February 16, 2021, Ortiz filed a notice of appeal purporting to appeal both the original sentence as well as the September 1, 2020 denial of her motion to reduce or modify her sentence. We lack jurisdiction. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the trial court judgment or order sought to be appealed. 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. Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872, 872 (1) (452 SE2d 756) (1995). Because Ortiz’s notice of appeal is untimely with respect to both the April 2017 sentence and the September 2020 order, we lack jurisdiction. Furthermore, Ortiz has already appealed the denial of the September 2020 order. Our dismissal of this prior appeal is res judicata. Williams v. State, 335 Ga. App. 468, 469 (1) (781 SE2d 791) (2016). Ortiz “is not entitled to multiple bites at the apple.” Ross v. State, 310 Ga. App. 326, 328 (713 SE2d 438) (2011).

For these reasons, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 07/01/2021 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.