Tamitra Anecilin Lambert v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ August 24, 2017 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A18A0020. TAMITRA ANECILIN LAMBERT v. THE STATE. Tamitra Anecilin Lambert filed this direct appeal from her conviction for littering in the magistrate court.1 However, “[t]he only avenue of appeal available from the magistrate court judgment is provided by OCGA § 15-10-41 (b) (1), which allows for a de novo appeal to the state or superior court.” Handler v. Hulsey, 199 Ga. App. 751, 751 (406 SE2d 225) (1991). This Court thus may address magistrate court matters only if they already have been reviewed by the state or superior court. See Westwind Corp. v. Washington Fed. S & L Assn., 195 Ga. App. 411, 411 (1) (393 SE2d 479) (1990). The Georgia Constitution provides that “[a]ny court shall transfer to the appropriate court in the state any civil case in which it determines that jurisdiction or venue lies elsewhere.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. I, Par. VIII; Bosma v. Gunter, 258 Ga. 664, 665 (373 SE2d 368) (1988). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Walton County State Court. 1 Lambert initially filed her appeal in the Georgia Supreme Court, which transferred the case to this Court. See Case No. S17A1617 (decided June 5, 2017). Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 08/24/2017 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.