Joey Jones v. the Municipal Court of the City of Atlanta

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ May 08, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A20A1678. JOEY JONES v. THE MUNICIPAL COURT OF THE CITY OF ATLANTA.

In 1997, Joey Jones pled guilty to driving offenses in the Municipal Court of Atlanta. In 2017, he filed a motion seeking an out-of-time appeal or to set aside his plea. The municipal court denied the motion, and Jones filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the superior court. On October 18, 2019, the superior court entered an order dismissing the petition as untimely. Jones filed a motion for reconsideration, which the superior court denied. On January 15, 2020, Jones filed a notice of appeal from the denial of the motion for reconsideration. We lack jurisdiction for two reasons. First, under OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (1), “[a]ppeals from the decisions of the superior courts reviewing decisions of . . . lower courts by certiorari or de novo proceedings” must be made by filing an application for discretionary appeal in this Court. See Consolidated Govt. of Columbus v. Barwick, 274 Ga. 176, 177 (1) (549 SE2d 73) (2001). This procedure must be followed even where the superior court dismisses the certiorari petition. See Brewer v. Bd. of Zoning Adjustment of Atlanta, 170 Ga. App. 351, 351 (317 SE2d 327) (1984). Accordingly, Jones was required to file a discretionary application in order to appeal the superior court’s ruling. Second, the denial of a motion for reconsideration is not directly appealable, and the filing of such a motion does not extend the time for filing an appeal. See Bell v. Cohran, 244 Ga. App. 510, 511 (536 SE2d 187) (2000); Savage v. Newsome, 173 Ga. App. 271, 271 (326 SE2d 5) (1985). Thus, even if Jones had a right of direct appeal, his failure to file a notice of appeal within 30 days of the superior court’s

October 18, 2019 order would deprive us of jurisdiction. See OCGA § 5-6-38 (a) (notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of appealable ruling). For these reasons, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/08/2020 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.