HILL-BLOUNT v. THE STATE.
A16A0758
Court of Appeals of Georgia
DECIDED APRIL 5, 2016
785 SE2d 309 | 336 Ga. App. 633
MCFADDEN, Judge.
in which our Supreme Court held that it was error to reject a defendant‘s offer to stipulate to his status as a convicted felon when the State‘s purpose for admitting the defendant‘s prior conviction into evidence was to satisfy the elements of the charge of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. The high court therein set forth the following limited exception to the general rule that a defendant cannot stipulate to facts and thereby obviate the need for proof over the State‘s objection:
[W]hen (1) a defendant‘s prior conviction is of the nature likely to inflame the passions of the jury and raise the risk of a conviction based on improper considerations, and (2) the purpose of the evidence is solely to prove the defendant‘s status as a convicted felon, then it is an abuse of discretion for the trial court to spurn the defendant‘s offer to stipulate to his prior conviction and admit the evidence to the jury.
Id. at 368 (2). However, Robinson‘s attempt to apply the Ross exception here is foreclosed by our decision in Jones, which explained that the Ross exception did not apply to evidence used for the proper purpose of impeaching a defendant‘s credibility as a witness. Jones, 318 Ga. App. at 108 (4). Therefore, we discern no error in the trial court‘s admission of the prior convictions.
Judgment affirmed. Ellington, P. J., and Mercier, J., concur.
DECIDED APRIL 5, 2016.
Tucker & Associates, Matthew A. Tucker, Jay T. Winkler, for appellant.
Tracy Graham Lawson, District Attorney, Elizabeth A. Baker, Assistant District Attorney,
MCFADDEN, Judge.
A jury found Corey Hill-Blount guilty of armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and the trial court entered his judgment of conviction on July 28, 2008. Thirty-seven days later, on September 3, 2008, Hill-Blount filed a motion for a new trial, which the trial court denied on February 3, 2015. Hill-Blount filed a notice of appeal on February 6, 2015. Because the motion for new trial was untimely, we lack jurisdiction and, accordingly, must dismiss the appeal.
1. Years-long delay in transmission of the record.
As an initial matter, we note that Hill-Blount‘s motion for a new trial was denied six years and five months after it was filed. The record contains no explanation for this delay. As discussed in Division 2, infra, Hill-Blount may be entitled to pursue an out-of-time appeal. Resolution of that issue will delay any possible consideration of the merits of this case by this court for approximately another year. We therefore again remind the bench and bar that
this sort of extraordinary post-conviction, pre-appeal delay puts at risk the rights of defendants and crime victims and the validity of convictions obtained after a full trial. It is the duty of all those involved in the criminal justice system, including trial courts and prosecutors as well as defense counsel and defendants, to ensure that the appropriate post-conviction motions are filed, litigated, and decided without unnecessary delay. That duty unfortunately was not fulfilled in this case.
Robinson v. State, 334 Ga. App. 646, 647 (1) (780 SE2d 86) (2015) (punctuation omitted); see also Shank v. State, 290 Ga. 844, 849 (5) (c) (725 SE2d 246) (2012); Morgan v. State, 290 Ga. 788, 788-789, nn. 1, 2 (725 SE2d 255) (2012); Hill v. State, 290 Ga. 493, 493, n. * (722 SE2d 708) (2012); Murphy v. State, 290 Ga. 459, 459, nn. 1, 2 (722 SE2d 51) (2012); Waye v. State, 326 Ga. App. 202, 202-203 (1) (756 SE2d 287) (2014).
2. Appellate jurisdiction.
The proper and timely filing of the notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer appellate jurisdiction upon this court. Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872, 872 (1) (452 SE2d 756) (1995). A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of the entry of an appealable judgment.
3. Notice to appellant of his right to petition for leave to file an out-of-time appeal.
Because Hill-Blount is represented by counsel, he is informed of the following in accordance with Rowland v. State, supra at 875-876: This appeal has been dismissed because you failed to file a timely notice of appeal from your judgment of conviction. If you still wish to appeal, you may petition the trial court for leave to file an out-of-time appeal. If the trial court grants your request, you will have 30 days from the entry of that order to file a notice of appeal referencing your conviction. If the trial court denies your request, you will have 30 days from the entry of that order to file a notice of appeal referencing the denial of your request for an out-of-time appeal.
The Clerk of Court is directed to send a copy of this order to Hill-Blount and to his attorney, and the latter also is directed to send a copy to Hill-Blount.
Appeal dismissed. Miller, P. J., and McMillian, J., concur.
DECIDED APRIL 5, 2016.
Motion for new trial. Richmond Superior Court. Before Judge Annis.
Peter D. Johnson, for appellant.
Ashley Wright, District Attorney, Joshua B. Smith, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.