Rodney Alan Neal v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ June 01, 2017 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A17A1676. RODNEY ALAN NEAL v. THE STATE. In May 2014, Rodney Alan Neal pled guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and illegal use of a communication facility. In March 2015, Neal filed a pro se motion for out-of-time appeal, which the trial court denied on March 17, 2015. Neal then filed his pro se notice of appeal on April 20, 2015. We, however, lack jurisdiction. Under OCGA § 5-6-38 (a), a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after entry of the appealable order. The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. Rocha v. State, 287 Ga. App. 446, 446 (1) (a) ( 651 SE2d 781 ) (2007). Here, Neal filed his notice of appeal 34 days after the order was entered. Accordingly, his appeal is untimely and is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 06/01/2017 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.