Opinion
A24E0026
11-01-2023
WASEEM DAKER v. SCOTT HALPERIN, AS CIRCUIT DEFENDER OF COBB COUNTY.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Waseem Anas Daker, an inmate at Hayes State Prison, attempted to file a pro se petition for mandamus against Scott Halperin as Circuit Defender of Cobb County and requested to proceed in forma pauperis. On September 12, 2023, the trial court entered an order denying the filing of the petition pursuant to OCGA § 9-15-2 (d).On October 1, 2023, Daker filed an emergency motion requesting that this Court grant him an extension of time of 30 days to file an application for discretionary appeal from the trial court's order. The motion is hereby GRANTED. See Court of Appeals Rules 16 (c), 40 (b). Daker's application for discretionary appeal shall be due on or before November 13, 2023.
OCGA § 9-15-2 (d) provides:
When a civil action is presented for filing under this Code section by a party who is not represented by an attorney, the clerk of court shall not file the matter but shall present the complaint or other initial pleading to a judge of the court. The judge shall review the pleading and, if the judge determines that the pleading shows on its face such a complete absence of any justiciable issue of law or fact that it cannot be reasonably believed that the court could grant any relief against any party named in the pleading, then the judge shall enter an order denying filing of the pleading. If the judge does not so find, then the judge shall enter an order allowing filing and shall return the pleading to the clerk for filing as in other cases. An order denying filing shall be appealable in the same manner as an order dismissing an action.
While OCGA § 9-15-2 (d) states that "[a]n order denying filing shall be appealable in the same manner as an order dismissing an action," Daker, as a prison inmate, is subject to the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, OCGA § 42-12-1 et seq., and thus is required to file an application for discretionary appeal in accordance with OCGA § 5-6-35. See OCGA § 42-12-8; Jones v. Townsend, 267 Ga. 489, 490491 (480 S.E.2d 24) (1997).
Although a 30-day extension of time would fall on November 11, 2023, that date is a Saturday. See generally Court of Appeals Rule 3 (providing, in pertinent part, that "[w]hen a filing deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, an official state or national holiday, or a time when the Clerk's office is closed for an emergency (such as inclement weather), the deadline is extended to the next business day").