Opinion
A22A0509
11-24-2021
ARTHUR CLARK v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In 2016, Arthur Clark was convicted of multiple offenses, including felony murder, and was sentenced to life in prison. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions. See Clark v. State, 306 Ga. 367 (829 S.E.2d 306) (2019). In October 2020, Clark filed a pro se extraordinary motion for a new trial. The trial court denied the motion, and Clark appeals. We, however, lack jurisdiction.
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 felony murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court. See OCGA § 16-5-1 (c), (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, Clark's appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.