Ricks v. State, 303 Ga. 567

In May 2012 Ashleigh Ricks pleaded guilty to felony murder in Baldwin County and received a life sentence.
After sentencing Ricks (pro se) filed multiple postjudgment motions; the trial court heard them in October 2012, orally denied them, and entered a written order in November 2012.
Between the hearing and the written order, Ricks’s counsel filed a notice of appeal on October 23, 2012; the record shows the notice was never docketed or transmitted but was not withdrawn or dismissed.
Because the 2012 notice of appeal remained pending, it operated as a supersedeas, depriving the trial court of jurisdiction over the judgment.
In April 2017 Ricks filed a motion for an out-of-time appeal; the trial court denied it, and Ricks appealed that denial to the Georgia Supreme Court.
The Georgia Supreme Court held the trial court lacked jurisdiction to rule on the 2017 motion and vacated the trial court’s April 2017 order as a nullity.

Issue	Ricks’ Argument	State’s Argument	Held
Whether the trial court had jurisdiction in Apr 2017 to deny an out‑of‑time appeal	Ricks argued the trial court could rule on an out‑of‑time appeal motion	The State argued the trial court’s ruling was valid	Court held the trial court lacked jurisdiction because the 2012 notice of appeal remained pending, so the 2017 order is void and must be vacated
Effect of a pending but undocketed notice of appeal	Ricks relied on need to restore appellate rights	State relied on finality and trial‑court authority	Court held a pending notice of appeal operates as a supersedeas and deprives the trial court of power to affect the appealed judgment
Proper remedy when a trial court issues a judgment while appealing court has supersedeas	Ricks sought relief from the trial court’s denial	State defended trial court’s action	Court held vacatur, not reversal, is the appropriate remedy for a judgment entered while the trial court lacked jurisdiction
Available relief if clerk fails to transmit an undocketed notice of appeal	Ricks suggested further motion practice	State relied on existing record	Court noted Ricks may petition for mandamus to compel the clerk to transmit the notice and record under OCGA § 5-6-43(a)

Scroggins v. State, 288 Ga. 346 (pending appeal acts as supersedeas)
Wetherington v. State, 295 Ga. 172 (discussing jurisdictional effect of pending appeal)
Rollins v. Rollins, 300 Ga. 485 (vacatur as remedy for void judgments)
Massey v. Massey, 294 Ga. 163 (stare decisis factors and vacatur)
State v. Jackson, 287 Ga. 646 (stare decisis analysis guidance)