Joseph Mikell v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ July 15, 2019 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A19D0535. JOSEPH MIKELL v. THE STATE. Joseph Mikell was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to life in prison. The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed his conviction in 2001. Mikell v. State, 274 Ga. 596 ( 555 SE2d 433 ) (2001). Mikell subsequently filed an extraordinary motion for new trial, which the trial court denied. He then filed an application for discretionary appeal from that denial in this Court. However, we 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, this application is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 07/15/2019 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.