Howard Anderson Lee v. State

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ November 20, 2017 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A18D0167. HOWARD ANDERSON LEE v. THE STATE. In his second appearance before this Court in this criminal case, Howard Anderson Lee filed this application for discretionary appeal seeking review of the trial court’s order denying his motion to recuse the superior court judge presiding over his criminal case.1 We, however, lack jurisdiction. The order that Lee seeks to appeal is interlocutory. See OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1) (providing for a direct appeal from a “final judgment[ ], that is to say, where the case is no longer pending in the court below”); Murphy v. Murphy, 322 Ga. App. 829, 830 (747 SE2d 21) (2013) (An order denying a motion to recuse is interlocutory). Therefore, in order to obtain appellate review of his recusal request and his “Motion in Limine,” Lee was required to follow the interlocutory appeal procedure set forth in OCGA § 5-6-34 (b), including obtaining a certificate of immediate review, which he did not do. See Bailey v. Bailey, 266 Ga. 832, 833 (471 SE2d 213) (1996) (where contested order is interlocutory, discretionary appeal statute does not excuse failure to comply with OCGA § 5-6-34 (b)). Lee’s failure to follow the proper appellate procedure deprives us of jurisdiction to consider his application. Accordingly, his application is hereby DISMISSED. 1 In his first appearance, Lee filed a direct appeal from the trial court’s order quashing his subpoena of the judge presiding over his case. Because that order, too, was interlocutory, we dismissed Lee’s appeal. See Case No. A17A1217 (dismissed March 27, 2017). Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 11/20/2017 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.