Opinion
A22A0910
02-09-2022
JUAN KEON HARRIS v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In 2008, Juan Keon Harris was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Harris filed a motion for new trial, which the trial court denied. Harris then filed this appeal. The Supreme Court, however, has jurisdiction over this case.
The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over "[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed." Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec VI, Par. III (8). Because a penalty of death may be imposed for the crime of murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court. See OCGA § 16-5-1 (e) (1); Neal v. State, 290 Ga. 563, 572 (722 S.E.2d 765) (2012) (Hunstein, C. J., concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524, 524 (1) (322 S.E.2d 711) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer to the Supreme Court "all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder"), overruled in part on other grounds as recognized in Elliott v. State, 305 Ga. 179, 205 (III) (C) (i) (824 S.E.2d 265) (2019). 1 Accordingly, this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court. 2