Opinion
A24I0039
10-10-2023
IN THE INTEREST OF G. Q. et al., CHILDREN (MOTHER).
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
The mother of G. Q. and G. M. filed this application for interlocutory review of the juvenile court's order finding the children dependent and awarding temporary custody of the children to the Bartow County Division of Family and Children Services. The certificate of immediate review attached to the mother's application, however, is defective. Accordingly, we will construe this filing as an application for discretionary appeal, in which no certificate of immediate review is required, rather than an application for interlocutory appeal, in which a proper certificate of immediate review is necessary. See Riley v. Ga. Department of Revenue, 295 Ga.App. 656, 657 (673 S.E.2d 49) (2009) ("The legislature has instructed that the Appellate Practice Act shall be liberally construed so as to bring about a decision on the merits of every case appealed and to avoid dismissal of any case.") (punctuation omitted).
The trial court entered the certificate of immediate review 14 days after the entry of the dependency order, rather than within 10 days of the order as required by OCGA § 5-6-34 (b).
The juvenile court's order is directly appealable. See In the Interest of A. T., 309 Ga.App. 822, 824, n. 3 (711 S.E.2d 382) (2011) ("An order within a [dependency] proceeding deciding temporary custody of the child is a 'final order,' within the meaning of OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (1), from which a direct appeal lies."); In the Interest of S. J., 270 Ga.App. 598, 608 (1) (a) (607 S.E.2d 225) (2004). Under OCGA § 5-6-35 (j), we will grant a timely discretionary application if the lower court's order is subject to direct appeal. Accordingly, this application is hereby GRANTED. The mother shall have ten days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the juvenile court. If she has already filed a notice of appeal, she need not file a second notice. The clerk of the juvenile court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the record transmitted to the Court of Appeals.