Darian Postell v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ January 16, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A26I0103. DARIAN POSTELL v. THE STATE.

Darian Postell was charged with the offenses of aggravated assault and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime, and entered a special plea of incompetency to stand trial pursuant to OCGA § 17-7-130. By stipulation of the parties, the superior court found Postell incompetent to stand trial and committed him to the custody of Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities for restoration to competency. Postell then filed a “Petition for Review to Superior Court” in the Supreme Court of Georgia, which docketed the filing as an application for interlocutory appeal. The Supreme Court transferred the the application to this Court after finding it had no basis to exercise its jurisdiction. See Case No. S26I0487 (Dec. 4, 2025). We, however, lack jurisdiction. Because this case remains pending below, the superior court’s order is interlocutory. See Howard v. State, 194 Ga. App. 857 (392 SE2d 562) (1990); see generally Carr v. State, 303 Ga. 853, 855 (1) (815 SE2d 903) (2018). Under OCGA § 5-6-34 (b), a party may request interlocutory review if the court certifies within ten days of entry of the order at issue that immediate review should be had. Here, Postell did not provide a certificate of immediate review. The requirements of OCGA § 5-6-34 (b) are jurisdictional, and if a party seeking interlocutory review does not comply with these requirements, the party must wait until final judgment to appeal. See Islamkhan v. Khan, 299 Ga. 548, 551 (2) (787 SE2d 731) (2016).

Accordingly, this application for interlocutory appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 01/16/2026 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.