Tony Pruitt v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ May 18, 2017 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A17A1680. TONY PRUITT v. THE STATE. A jury convicted Tony Pruitt of malice murder, and the Supreme Court affirmed his conviction. Pruitt v. State, 274 Ga. 708 ( 559 SE2d 470 ) (2002). In 2014, Pruitt filed a pro se “Motion to Vacate a Void Conviction and Sentence.” The trial court denied the motion, and Pruitt filed a notice of appeal to this Court. We, however, lack jurisdiction. Under our Constitution, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over “[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (8). Because a penalty of death can be imposed for the crime of murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court. See OCGA § 16-5-1 (a), (e) (1); Neal v. State, 290 Ga. 563, 572 ( 722 SE2d 765 ) (2012) (Hunstein, C. J., concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524, 524 (1) ( 322 SE2d 711 ) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer “all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder”). Accordingly, Pruitt’s appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia C l e r k ’ s O f f i c e , Atlanta,____________________ 05/18/2017 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.