Opinion
A22D0389
06-01-2022
IN THE INTEREST OF G. L., A CHILD (FATHER).
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
The father of minor child G. L. has filed a timely application for discretionary review of the juvenile court's order finding G. L. to be a dependent child, awarding temporary custody of G. L. to the Monroe County Division of Family and Children Services, suspending visitation between the father and G. L., and entering a restraining order prohibiting the father from contacting G. L.
The father initially filed his application in the Supreme Court of Georgia, which transferred it to this Court. See Case No. S22D0910 (Apr. 25, 2022).
Although an application is ordinarily required to appeal from an order granting a temporary restraining order, see OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (9), "[a]n 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 A. T., 309 Ga.App. 822, 824, n. 3 (711 S.E.2d 382) (2011) (punctuation omitted); accord In the Interest of S. J., 270 Ga.App. 598, 608 (1) (a) (607 S.E.2d 225) (2004). Because the father challenges the dependency order, not merely the restraining order, it appears that he is entitled to a direct appeal. See Ferguson v. Composite State Bd. of Med. Examiners, 275 Ga. 255, 257 (1) (564 S.E.2d 715) (2002) ("Where both the direct and discretionary appeal statutes are implicated, it is always the underlying subject matter that will control whether the appeal must be brought pursuant to OCGA § 5-6-34 or OCGA § 5-6-35.").
Under OCGA § 5-6-35 (j), this Court will grant a timely discretionary application if the lower court's order is subject to direct appeal. Accordingly, this application is hereby GRANTED. The father shall have 10 days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the trial court, if he has not already done so. The clerk of the juvenile court is DIRECTED to include a copy of this order in the record transmitted to the Court of Appeals.