Steven Lemery v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ March 02, 2023

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A23A0993. STEVEN LEMERY v. THE STATE.

In 2012, a jury found Steven Lemery guilty of six counts of sex trafficking, one count of pandering, three counts of aggravated child molestation, and one count of enticing a child for indecent purposes, and we affirmed his convictions on appeal. See Lemery v. State, 330 Ga. App. 623 (768 SE2d 800) (2015). On February 6, 2023, Lemery filed a new notice a appeal, seeking to appeal his convictions and sentences as void. We, however, lack jurisdiction. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the judgment or trial court order sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). “Compliance with this statutory deadline for filing a notice of appeal is an ‘absolute requirement’ to confer jurisdiction on an appellate court.” Collier v. State, 307 Ga. 363, 371 (2) (834 SE2d 769) (2019). Because Lemery filed this notice of appeal over ten years after the trial court entered the judgment of conviction and sentence, the notice of appeal is untimely. To the extent Lemery is attempting to raise a void sentence claim, he must first do so in the trial court. This Court is an appellate court for the correction of errors made by the trial court and has no original jurisdiction; thus, we will not consider issues on which the trial court has not ruled. Ward v. State, 299 Ga. App. 826, 827 (683 SE2d 894) (2009). Without a ruling from the trial court on a particular issue, there is nothing for this Court to review upon appeal.

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,____________________ 03/02/2023 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.