Augustus King v. Georgia Department of Corrections

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ November 09, 2017 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A18A0302. AUGUSTUS KING v. GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS. Prison inmate Augustus King filed this civil action against the Georgia Department of Corrections. The trial court entered a directed verdict on behalf of the defendant. King then appealed directly to this Court. Because King was incarcerated when he initiated this action, his appeal is controlled by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, OCGA § 42-12-1 et seq. OCGA § 42-12-8 requires that an appeal of a civil action filed by a prisoner “shall be as provided in Code Section 5-6-35.” Under OCGA § 5-6-35 (b), the party wishing to appeal must file an application for discretionary appeal with the appropriate appellate court. King did not file an application for discretionary appeal in this case, and his failure to do so deprives this Court of jurisdiction over this direct appeal. See Jones v. Townsend, 267 Ga. 489, 491 (480 SE2d 24) (1997). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia C l e r k ’ s O f f i c e , Atlanta,____________________ 11/09/2017 I certify that the abov e 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.