Denzel Tate Haywood v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ April 06, 2022 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A22A0357. DENZEL TATE HAYWOOD v. THE STATE. A jury found Denzel Haywood guilty of robbery by intimidation, aggravated assault, and battery, and the trial court entered sentence on March 6, 2020. The trial court denied Haywood’s motion for new trial on January 20, 2021. Haywood filed a timely notice of appeal, which we docketed as Case Number A21A1125. We dismissed this appeal on August 16, 2021, because Haywood had failed to file an appellate brief and enumeration of errors. See Court of Appeals Rule 23 (a). On September 15, 2021, Haywood filed an out-of-time notice of appeal, and the trial court transmitted the record. We, however, lack jurisdiction over this appeal. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). “[A] timely-filed notice of appeal is a jurisdictional prerequisite to a valid appeal.” Henderson v. State, 265 Ga. 317 (1) ( 454 SE2d 458 ) (1995). Here, Haywood filed his notice of appeal more than 18 months after the denial of his motion for new trial. Although Haywood purported to file an out-of-time appeal, the Supreme Court has made clear that an out-of-time appeal is not a viable remedy in a criminal case. See Cook v. State, ___ Ga. ___, ___ (5) (Case No. S21A1270, decided March 15, 2022). Because the trial court was without jurisdiction to decide Haywood’s motion for out-of-time appeal in this case, we VACATE the trial court’s order and REMAND with instructions to dismiss the motion. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 04/06/2022 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.