Case Information
*1 Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
ATLANTA,____________________ November 16, 2017 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A18A0666. JAMES RUDOLPH COOLEY v. THE STATE.
On August 17, 2017, James Rudolph Cooley filed a pro se notice of appeal seeking to appeal an order of the trial court entered on July 24, 2017. However, the record on appeal only contains an order entered on March 30, 2017, in which the trial court sentenced Cooley to pay a fine after he pleaded guilty to driving with an expired license plate. In addition, the Clerk of the State Court of Hall County has informed this Court that no order in this case was entered on July 24, 2017. Thus, this appeal is untimely. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after the entry of the trial court’s order. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction upon this Court. Rowland v. State , 264 Ga. 872, 872 (1) (452 SE2d 756) (1995). Here, Cooley filed his notice of appeal 140 days after the only trial court order in the record was entered. Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.
Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 11/16/2017 I certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written. , Clerk.