Court Opinion

ID: 9964313
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-29 17:03:38.270805+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:25:18.513822
License: Public Domain

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

                                         ATLANTA,____________________
                                                  April 29, 2024

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A24A1295. WILLIAM HUGHEY v. THE STATE.

      A jury found William Hughey guilty of aggravated assault, aggravated battery,
and other offenses, and we affirmed his convictions on appeal. Hughey v. State, Case
No. A18A1812 (Jan. 18, 2019). He later filed an extraordinary motion for a new trial
in which he challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions and
the trial court’s failure to instruct the jury on the elements of aggravated battery and
argued that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance. The trial court denied the
motion in March 2024, and Hughey filed a direct appeal to this Court. We lack
jurisdiction.
      An appeal from an order denying an extraordinary motion for a new trial must
be initiated by filing an application for discretionary review. OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (7),
(b); Balkcom v. State, 227 Ga. App. 327, 329 (489 SE2d 129) (1997). “Compliance
with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional.” Smoak v. Dept. of Human
Resources, 221 Ga. App. 257, 257 (471 SE2d 60) (1996). Hughey’s failure to follow the
discretionary review procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this direct appeal.
      To the extent that Hughey’s extraordinary motion for a new trial may be
construed as a motion to vacate his judgment of conviction, “a petition to vacate or
modify a judgment of conviction is not an appropriate remedy in a criminal case,”
Harper v. State, 286 Ga. 216, 218 (1) (686 SE2d 786) (2009), and any appeal from an
order denying or dismissing such a petition or motion must be dismissed, see Roberts
v. State, 286 Ga. 532, 532 (690 SE2d 150) (2010); Harper, 286 Ga. at 218 (2). For each
of the above reasons, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

                                       Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
                                         Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
                                                                     04/29/2024
                                                  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.