James W. Haynes, Jr. v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,__________________ July 22, 2014 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A14A1862. JAMES W. HAYNES, JR. v. THE STATE. A jury found James W. Haynes, Jr. guilty of aggravated assault and other crimes. Through counsel, Haynes filed a motion for new trial, but he later waived his right to counsel and was permitted to proceed pro se. The trial court denied the motion for new trial by order entered January 25, 2013. On February 10, 2014, Haynes filed a notice of appeal to this Court. We lack jurisdiction because the notice of appeal was untimely. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of the entry of the order sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). “The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction upon an appellate court.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Perlman v. Perlman, 318 Ga. App. 731, 739 (4) (734 SE2d 560) (2012). Here, Haynes filed his notice of appeal more than a year after entry of the order denying his motion for new trial.1 His appeal is therefore untimely, and it is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. 1 On February 26, 2013, Haynes filed a “Notice of Filing Petition of Certiorari” and “Notice of Intent” indicating his wish to appeal to the Supreme Court. Even if we were to interpret these documents as notices of appeal, they also were untimely, as they were filed 32 days after entry of the order denying the motion for new trial. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 07/22/2014 Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,__________________ 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.