Court Opinion

ID: 9961339
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-18 16:06:16.590994+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:20:37.848729
License: Public Domain

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

                                          ATLANTA,____________________
                                                   April 18, 2024

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A24D0297. IN THE INTEREST OF A. J. R. C. et al., CHILDREN (MOTHER).

      After the juvenile court entered an order terminating the parental rights of the
mother of minor children A. J. R. C. and M. M. K. C., the mother filed a motion for
a new trial. The juvenile court denied the motion for a new trial in an order entered
on February 25, 2024. On Wednesday, March 27, 2024, the mother filed an
application for discretionary review, seeking to appeal the juvenile court’s order. We
lack jurisdiction.
      An application for discretionary review must be filed within 30 days of entry of
the order or judgment sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-35 (d). The requirements
of OCGA § 5-6-35 are jurisdictional, and this Court cannot accept an application for
appeal not made in compliance therewith. Boyle v. State, 190 Ga. App. 734, 734 (380
SE2d 57) (1989). The mother’s application is untimely, as it was filed 31 days after
entry of the order she seeks to appeal.
      In her application, the mother states, without citation to authority, that, because
the order denying her motion for a new trial was entered on a Sunday, it “became
effective the following day, February 26, 2024.” The mother is mistaken. In that
regard, OCGA § 1-3-1 (d) (3) provides, in relevant part:

      [W]hen a period of time measured in days . . . is prescribed for the
      exercise of any privilege or the discharge of any duty, the first day shall
      not be counted but the last day shall be counted; and, if the last day falls
      on Saturday or Sunday, the party having such privilege or duty shall have
      through the following Monday to exercise the privilege or to discharge
      the duty.

Notably, while the statute provides exceptions where “the last day” of a time period
falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it provides no such exception where an order sought to
be appealed is entered on a Saturday or Sunday. Rather, under the plain language of
the statute, the day the order was entered is not counted, regardless of the day of the
week. Therefore, the first day of the 30-day period in which to file a discretionary
application in this case fell on Monday, February 26, 2024, and the last day of that
period fell on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, one day before this application was filed.
Accordingly, this untimely application is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

                                        Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
                                          Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
                                                                      04/18/2024
                                                   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.