Court of Appeals

of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A21A0187. FREDRICK HOLLOWAY, JR. v. THE STATE. 

A21A0188. SAMUEL MATHIS DIXON v. THE STATE.

A21A0189. STEPHEN JACOB HAMMOND v. THE STATE.

A21A0190. JOSEPH LEE GRINER v. THE STATE.

A21A0191. JOHN JAELEN ROGERS v. THE STATE. 

The defendantsin these cases are currently facing criminal charges. They have

filed essentially identical appeals of the August 11, 2020 “Fifth Order Extending

Declaration of Statewide Judicial Emergency” issued by the Chief Justice of the

Georgia Supreme Court pursuant to OCGA § 38-3-61. In their appeals, they claim

that the order’s state-wide suspension of jury trials violates the due process and

speedy trial clauses of the Constitution of the State of Georgia and the Constitution

of the United States. We conclude that these appeals should be transferred to the

Georgia Supreme Court, which has exclusive jurisdiction over “[a]ll cases involving

the construction of . . . the Constitution of the State of Georgia or of the United States

and all cases in which the constitutionality of a law, ordinance, or constitutional

provision has been drawn in question.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. II

(1); see also Atlanta Independent School System v. Lane, 266 Ga. 657, 657 (1) (469

SE2d 22) (1996). 

The Georgia Court of Appeals has only “limited jurisdiction to review

constitutional questions,” which arises “when the facts of the case do not involve

construction of some constitutional provision directly in question and doubtful either

under its own terms or under the decisions of the Supreme Court of Georgia or the

Supreme Court of the United States.” State v. Davis, 303 Ga. 684, 687-688 (1) (814

August 28, 2020
SE2d 701) (2018) (punctuation omitted). It appears that the instant appeals involve

construction of the due process and speedy trial clauses of the state and federal

constitutions, asthe question of how these clausesshould be construed in the context

of suspending jury trials during a public health emergency has not previously been

addressed in this State. See id. (Georgia Supreme Court had jurisdiction over a

“constitutional question of first impression,” where the constitutional provision in

question with respect to sex offender registration had not previously been addressed);

State Dept. of Corrections v. Developers Sur. & Indem. Co., 295 Ga. 741, 742 n. 2

(763 SE2d 868) (2014) (“An appeal requiring a first impression construction of the

sovereign immunity provision of the Georgia Constitution is within [the Georgia

Supreme] Court’s exclusive appellate jurisdiction.”).

Thus, it appears that jurisdiction over the instant appeals lies in the Georgia

Supreme Court. While we acknowledge that the question of appellate jurisdiction is

subject to differing reasonable conclusions, we note that the Supreme Court has “the

ultimate responsibilityfor construing the constitutional provisions regarding appellate

jurisdiction.” Saxton v. Coastal Dialysis & Med. Clinic, 267 Ga. 177, 178 (476 SE2d

587) (1996). We also acknowledge that OCGA § 38-3-64 (c) provides in pertinent

part that an appeal of an order declaring the existence of a judicial emergency “shall

be heard immediately by the Georgia Court of Appeals under the procedure of

emergency motions.” However, we have reviewed these appeals in an expedited

manner, and even if OCGA § 38-3-64 (c) and the provision of the Georgia

Constitution regarding appellate jurisdiction over constitutional questions are in

conflict, the latter would control. See MARTA v. Buho, 353 Ga. App. 466, 468 (838

SE2d 130) (2020) (to the extent a statutory rule contradicts a constitutional rule, the

constitutional rule prevails).
For the foregoing reasons, these appeals are hereby TRANSFERRED to the

Georgia Supreme Court for disposition. 

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________

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.

08/28/2020