Dennis Hamilton v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ December 01, 2025

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A26A0593. DENNIS HAMILTON v. THE STATE.

In 2004, Dennis Hamilton was convicted on twenty-three counts relating to three armed robberies. We affirmed his convictions on direct appeal. See Hamilton v. State, Case No. A08A1664 (Mar. 4, 2009) (unpublished). In 2024, Hamilton filed a motion to correct void sentence, which the trial court denied on August 21, 2025. Hamilton then filed his notice of appeal on September 26, 2025. We 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). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. Ebeling v. State, 355 Ga. App. 469, 469 (844 SE2d 518) (2020). Hamilton’s notice of appeal was filed 36 days after entry of the trial court’s order and is thus untimely. Although Hamilton urges us to extend the statutory deadline by applying the mailbox rule, that rule does not apply here. The mailbox rule “applies only to habeas petitions, . . . not to direct appeals, and does not exempt a pro se prisoner from complying with the statutory requirements to file a timely notice of appeal in any non-habeas criminal or civil filing.” McCroskey v. State, 291 Ga. App. 15, 16 (2) (660 SE2d 735) (2008) (citation and punctuation omitted).

For these reasons, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 12/01/2025 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.