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Rokei Jerquina Winston v. State
Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
ATLANTA,____________________ March 18, 2019
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A19D0364. ROKEI JERQUINA WINSTON v. THE STATE.
Based on the limited materials before us, it appears that Rokei Jerquina Winston pleaded guilty to several offenses in 2009.1 In 2019, he filed a pro se motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The trial court denied the motion, and Winston filed a timely application for discretionary review. Winston’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea was filed outside the term of court of his judgment of conviction. See Ellison v. State, 283 Ga. 461, 461 (660 SE2d 373) (2008) (noting that a motion to withdraw a guilty plea must be filed in the same term of court in which the plea was entered and a trial court lacks jurisdiction to grant an untimely motion). However, orders resolving out-of-time motions to withdraw guilty pleas have been treated by our Supreme Court as directly appealable. See id.; Smith v. State, 283 Ga. 376, 376-377 (659 SE2d 380) (2008). Thus, it appears that the trial court’s order is subject to direct appeal. We will grant an otherwise timely application for discretionary appeal if the lower court’s order is subject to direct appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-35 (j). Accordingly, this application is hereby GRANTED, and Winston shall have ten days from the date
1 In 2014, Winston filed a motion for an out-of-time appeal, which was denied, and we dismissed his subsequent appeal as untimely. See Case No. A15A1540 (May 18, 2015).
of this order to file his notice of appeal with the trial court. If he has already filed a notice of appeal in the trial court, he need not file an additional notice. The clerk of the trial court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the records transmitted to the Court of Appeals.
Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 03/18/2019 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.