Opinion
A25A0119
08-23-2024
THOMAS DEAN v. THE STATE OF GEORGIA et al.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In June 2022, Thomas Dean filed an action in the superior court, seeking to challenge the qualifications of candidates for Georgia Labor Commissioner. The defendants filed motions to dismiss, which the trial court granted. Dean then appealed to this Court.
The Supreme Court of Georgia "has exclusive appellate jurisdiction over '[a]ll cases of election contest.'" Cook v. Bd. of Registrars, 291 Ga. 67, 68 (2) (a) (1) (727 S.E.2d 478) (2012) (quoting Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. II (2)). Because the underlying subject matter of this action is an "election contest," it appears that jurisdiction over this appeal may lie in the Supreme Court. See Cook, 291 Ga. at 71 (2) (a) (3) (observing that various pre-election "candidacy challenges . . . qualify as 'cases of election contest' within [the Supreme] Court's jurisdiction"). Further, the Supreme Court has the ultimate responsibility for determining appellate jurisdiction. See Saxton v. Coastal Dialysis &Med. Clinic, 267 Ga. 177, 178 (476 S.E.2d 587) (1996).
Accordingly, this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.