Opinion
A23A1611
07-06-2023
TIMOTHY LAMAR CLARK, JR. v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In March 2010, Timothy Lamar Clark, Jr. was convicted of aggravated child molestation, child molestation, and cruelty to children. On appeal, this Court affirmed his convictions. Clark v. State, 309 Ga.App. 749 (711 S.E.2d 749) (2011). Over a decade later, Clark filed a motion for an out-of-time appeal. The trial court denied that motion, finding that because Clark had previously appealed his convictions, he was not entitled to the relief he sought. Clark now seeks to appeal the trial court's order. In light of the Georgia Supreme Court's decision in Cook v. State, 313 Ga. 471 (870 S.E.2d 758) (2022), we vacate the trial court's order and remand with direction.
In Cook, our Supreme Court eliminated the judicially created out-of-time-appeal procedure, holding that a trial court is "without jurisdiction to decide [a] motion for out-of-time appeal" on the merits because "there was and is no legal authority for motions for out-of-time appeal in trial courts." 313 Ga. at 506 (5). Cook also concluded that this holding would apply to "all cases that are currently on direct review or otherwise not yet final[,]" id., and directed that "pending and future motions for out-of-time appeals in trial courts should be dismissed, and trial court orders that have decided such motions on the merits . . . should be vacated if direct review of the case remains pending or if the case is otherwise not final." Id. at 505 (4) Accordingly, the trial court's order denying Clark's motion for an out-of-time appeal is VACATED, and this case is REMANDED for the entry of an order dismissing Clark's motion.