Wayland Braxton Willis v. Hon. Sheryl B. Jolly

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ March 06, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A26E0154. WILLIS v. JOLLY.

Wayland Willis’s Petition for Writ of Mandamus is hereby DENIED.

“This Court’s original mandamus jurisdiction is narrow and will be exercised sparingly.” Court of Appeals Rule 40 (c). We are authorized “to grant a writ of mandamus only in matters related to an appeal or impending appeal, when necessary in aid of appellate jurisdiction or to protect or effectuate appellate court judgments.” Arnold v. Alexander, 321 Ga. 330, 335 (1) (914 SE2d 311) (2025).

“Such petition may be filed in the appropriate superior court. Being the respondent, the superior court judge will disqualify, another superior court judge will be appointed to hear and determine the matter, and the final decision may be appealed to the [appellate court] for review.” Byrd v. Robinson, 349 Ga. App. 19, 20 (825 SE2d 424) (2019) (punctuation omitted), disapproved in part on other grounds by Arnold, 321 Ga. at 336 n. 7 (1). See also Bellamy v. Rumer, 305 Ga. 638 (827 SE2d 269) (2019) (whether judge failed to comply with duty to timely rule on petitioner’s motion stated

a claim for mandamus to be addressed in superior court).

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/06/2026 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.