Opinion
A25A0131
08-16-2024
RICO LAMAR BALLARD v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In 1995, Rico Lamar Ballard was convicted of murder and other crimes, and was sentenced to life in prison. The trial court denied Ballard's motion for new trial, and on appeal, the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed his convictions. Ballard v. State, 268 Ga. 895 (494 S.E.2d 644) (1998). In 2023, Ballard filed an extraordinary motion for new trial, among other motions. In 2024, the trial court denied all of Ballard's pending motions, and he filed this direct appeal. We lack jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court of Georgia 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 (a), (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 "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). The Supreme Court's jurisdiction over murder cases includes appeals from orders resolving post-judgment motions in such cases. See Simpson v. State, 292 Ga. 764, 764 (740 S.E.2d 124) (2013) (appeal from denial of motion attacking murder convictions as void).
Accordingly, this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court of Georgia for disposition.