Opinion
A23A0447
11-17-2022
TRAVIS AMOS WELLBORN v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In 2019, Travis Amos Wellborn was convicted of multiple violations of the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act (OCGA § 16-15-1 et. seq.). Wellborn's counsel filed a timely motion for new trial, which the trial court denied. Acting pro se, Wellborn filed this appeal. We lack jurisdiction.
"A criminal defendant in Georgia does not have the right to represent himself and also be represented by an attorney, and pro se filings by represented parties are therefore unauthorized and without effect." Tolbert v. Toole, 296 Ga. 357, 363 (3) (767 S.E.2d 24) (2014) (punctuation omitted). The record shows that Wellborn was represented by counsel at trial and continued to be represented at least through the date of the hearing on the motion (March 1, 2022). The court entered its order denying the motion on March 15, 2022, and Wellborn filed his pro se appeal on March 22, 2022. Nothing in the record indicates that counsel either withdrew or was relieved from representing Wellborn. See White v. State, 302 Ga. 315, 319 (2) (806 S.E.2d 489) (2017) (rejecting defendant's argument that representation terminates upon entry of judgment and recognizing that a defense counsel's duties toward a clients extend for at least the 30 days after the entry of judgment when a notice of appeal may be filed). Under these circumstances, Wellborn's pro se appeal is a legal nullity and must be dismissed. See Soberanis v. State, 345 Ga.App. 403, 405 (812 S.E.2d 800) (2018).
Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.