Mobuary v. Georgia
Annotate this CaseThe Georgia Supreme Court granted pro se petitioner Jason Mobuary’s petition for certiorari review. In 2003, petitioner pled guilty to enticing a child for indecent purposes. In 2018, he moved the trial court for an out-of-time appeal and motion for appointment of counsel. The trial court denied both motions in late 2019. Mobuary filed a notice of appeal of the trial court’s rulings. He mailed his notice of appeal on May 12, 2020; the trial court received the notice of appeal on May 22, 2020, and stamped it “filed” and docketed it on May 26, 2020. On June 16, 2020, in its Case No. A20A1922, the Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction on the basis that, “[b]ecause Mobuary’s notice of appeal was filed 167 days after the order he seeks to appeal, it is untimely[.]” The record showed, however, that Mobuary initiated the appellate process in the time allowed, by filing on January 8, 2020, a request for an extension of time from the Supreme Court in which to file an application for a discretionary appeal. The Supreme Court granted an extension through February 10, 2020, and Mobuary filed a discretionary application by the extended deadline. Because the application involved a non-murder criminal offense, and did not appeal to raise any issues that would otherwise invoke the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction, the case was transferred to the Court of Appeals, docketed as Case No. A20D0344. The Court of Appeals determined Mobuary’s case could proceed via direct appeal, and on May 8, 2020, granted Mobuary’s application of discretionary appeal. The May 2020 order was entered when certain filing requirements were tolled by the Chief Justice in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. In sum, the conclusion that Mobuary’s notice of appeal was untimely was made in error, and the judgment was reversed.
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