Rutledge v. State, 313 Ga. 460

Appellant Marcus Rutledge was indicted in June 2016 on malice murder and related counts; in February 2018 he pled guilty to malice murder (remaining counts nolle prossed) and was sentenced to life with parole.
Rutledge did not file a notice of appeal within 30 days of the guilty-plea judgment.
In July 2019 he filed a pro se motion in the trial court for an out-of-time appeal, alleging plea counsel failed to inform him of possible grounds for appeal; the trial court initially denied the motion without a hearing.
This Court (Rutledge v. State, 309 Ga. 508) vacated in part and remanded for an evidentiary hearing under Collier v. State to determine whether counsel’s ineffective assistance prevented a timely appeal; an evidentiary hearing was held on remand.
In December 2020 the trial court denied the out-of-time appeal on the merits; Rutledge appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia.
On March 15, 2022, tied to Cook v. State issued the same day, the Court held trial courts lack authority to entertain motions for out-of-time appeal; therefore the trial court should have dismissed (not denied) Rutledge’s motion, the Court vacated the trial court’s order, and remanded with direction to dismiss. Three Justices dissented.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Rutledge was entitled to an out-of-time appeal based on plea counsel’s alleged failures	Counsel failed to advise Rutledge of right to appeal or to withdraw plea, so ineffective assistance frustrated his right to appeal	The State maintained the trial court’s adjudication and denial on merits was proper (no entitlement shown)	Court did not reach the merits because trial courts lack authority to grant out-of-time appeals; remedy lies in habeas corpus
Whether trial courts have legal authority to adjudicate motions for out-of-time appeal	Rutledge relied on Collier and prior Georgia practice allowing out-of-time appeals in trial court	State relied on trial-court adjudication below; after Cook the State’s position did not revive trial-court authority	Court held there is no legal authority in trial courts for out-of-time-appeal motions and the procedure followed in King/Furgerson is not cognizable
Proper remedy when a trial court decides a motion it lacked jurisdiction to decide	Rutledge sought substantive relief (out-of-time appeal)	State asked affirmance of trial-court denial	Court vacated the trial court’s merits decision and remanded with instruction to dismiss the motion rather than deny it (citing analogous precedent)

Collier v. State, 307 Ga. 363 (2019) (ineffective assistance can justify providing an out-of-time appeal when a constitutional right to appeal was frustrated)
Rutledge v. State, 309 Ga. 508 (2020) (this Court previously remanded for an evidentiary hearing under Collier)
King v. State, 233 Ga. 630 (1975) (historical Georgia practice allowing out-of-time appeals in some contexts)
Furgerson v. State, 234 Ga. 594 (1975) (another early decision recognizing out-of-time appeal practice)
Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872 (1995) (approved King and Furgerson)
Brooks v. State, 301 Ga. 748 (2017) (when a trial court decides a matter it lacked jurisdiction to decide, the appropriate remedy is to vacate and remand with instructions to dismiss)