360 Ga. App. 776
Ga. Ct. App.2021Background
- Janorris Spears was tried for multiple offenses; after a nine-day trial a jury convicted him of attempt to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and acquitted him on several other counts.
- The jury was unable to reach verdicts on two felony murder counts and one aggravated assault with a deadly weapon count; the trial court dead-docketed those counts.
- The trial court entered judgment on the remaining convictions and sentenced Spears to 30 years; the court denied his motion for new trial.
- Spears filed a direct appeal and moved to remand the case to the trial court in light of Seals v. State (a recent Georgia Supreme Court decision addressing dead-docketed counts).
- The Court of Appeals held that under Seals a dead-docketed count keeps the case pending below, requiring the interlocutory appeal procedure in OCGA § 5-6-34(b); because Spears did not follow that procedure, the appellate court lacked jurisdiction and dismissed the appeal.
- The court denied Spears’s remand motion as moot, encouraged trial courts to grant certificates of immediate review under OCGA § 5-6-34(b), and invited the General Assembly to consider amending OCGA § 5-6-34(a) to address Seals’ consequences.
Issues
| Issue | Spears's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appealability/jurisdiction when indictment counts are dead-docketed | Move to remand per Seals so trial court can resolve pending counts and allow proper appeal | Case remains pending below due to dead-docketed counts; Spears must use interlocutory-appeal procedures and did not do so | Appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction; remand motion moot; trial courts encouraged to grant certificate of immediate review |
Key Cases Cited
- Boyd v. State, [citation="191 Ga. App. 435"] (Ga. Ct. App. 1989) (interlocutory-appeal rules governing appeals when case remains pending below due to unresolved counts)