Case Name: LAWRENCE v. STATE OF GEORGIA
Court: Supreme Court of Georgia
Jurisdiction: Georgia
Decision Date: 1997-09-22
Citations: 268 Ga. 420
Docket Number: S97Q0968
Parties: LAWRENCE v. STATE OF GEORGIA.
Judges: All the Justices concur.
Reporter: Georgia Reports
Volume: 268
Pages: 420–420

Head Matter:
S97Q0968.
LAWRENCE v. STATE OF GEORGIA.
(489 SE2d 850)
Decided September 22, 1997.
Steven H. Sadow, for appellant.
J. Tom Morgan, District Attorney, Gregory J. Lohmeier, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.

Opinion:
Per curiam.
The Court of Appeals has certified four questions to this Court under the authority of Ga. Const, of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. V, Par. IV; and Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (7). Lawrence v. State of Ga., 225 Ga. App. 606 (484 SE2d 341) (1997). The questions certified seek application of the specific facts of this case to the law and seek resolution of the ultimate issue on appeal. Under our case law, when the answer to a certified question would constitute the decision in the main case, this Court will decline to answer the question. Thorp v. State, 264 Ga. 712, 718 (450 SE2d 416) (1994). Only questions that present distinct issues of law are properly certified to this Court. Louisville &c. R. Co. v. Hood, 149 Ga. 829 (102 SE 521) (1920). Since the certified questions do not conform to this requirement, and because the trial court did not rule on any constitutional question, the questions were improperly certified to this Court by the Court of Appeals. The case is hereby returned to the Court of Appeals.
For the foregoing reasons, the certified questions are not answered.
All the Justices concur.