Ronnie Williams v. Homer Bryson

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ August 29, 2018 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A19D0041. RONNIE WILLIAMS v. HOMER BRYSON et al. Prisoner Ronnie Williams sought to proceed in forma pauperis in a petition for writ of mandamus against, inter alia, the Georgia Department of Corrections. On April 5, 2018, the trial court denied his request to proceed in forma pauperis and rejected the filing of the petition. On June 25, 2018, Williams filed in the Supreme Court of Georgia an application for discretionary review,1 alleging that he did not receive timely notice of the trial court’s order. The Supreme Court transferred the case to this Court. See Case No. S18D1500 (July 13, 2018). We, however, also lack jurisdiction. An application for discretionary review must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order or judgment to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-35 (d). In his application, Williams asserts that he did not receive the order of the trial court until June 18, 2018. But the requirements of OCGA § 5-6-35 are jurisdictional, and this Court cannot accept an application for appeal not made in compliance therewith. Boyle v. State, 190 Ga. App. 734, 734 (380 SE2d 57) (1989). Williams’s application was untimely 1 Because he is incarcerated, Williams’s appeal is controlled by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, OCGA § 42-12-1 et seq. Under OCGA § 42-12-8, “[a]ppeals of all actions filed by prisoners shall be as provided in Code Section 5-6- 35[,]” the statute governing discretionary appeals. filed 81 days after entry of the order he seeks to appeal. Accordingly, this application is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. Finally, to the extent that the trial court did not provide Williams with timely notice of its April 5, 2018 order, his remedy is to petition the trial court to set aside and re-enter the order as a means of correcting the problem. See Pierce v. State, 289 Ga. 893, 894-895 (2) (717 SE2d 202) (2011). Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 08/29/2018 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.