Opinion
A23E0053
06-22-2023
KEVIN D. JONES v. CHIEF JUDGE OF FULTON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT et al.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Kevin Jones, a jail inmate, filed a pro se original mandamus petition in this Court against the "Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Fulton County." In his petition, he states that he filed a mandamus petition in the superior court requesting that the judge enter judgments on motions he filed in that court; it does not appear that the superior court has ruled on the mandamus petition. Jones asks this Court to compel the superior court to enter judgments on all motions he has pending in that court. We lack jurisdiction.
Jones must first obtain a ruling on his mandamus petition from the superior court. "Generally, the superior courts of this state have the power, in proper cases, to issue process in the nature of mandamus, prohibition, specific performance, quo warranto, and injunction, and hence the need to resort to the appellate courts for such relief by petition filed in the appellate courts will be extremely rare." Brown v. Johnson, 251 Ga. 436, 436 (306 S.E.2d 655) (1983). This is not one of the extremely rare instances in which this Court will exercise original mandamus jurisdiction. See id. at 436-437; see also Amica v, State, 307 Ga.App. 276, 282 (2) (704 S.E.2d 831) (2010). Until such time as Jones has obtained a ruling on his requested relief in superior court, there is no basis for this Court to exercise jurisdiction.
Moreover, because Jones is presently incarcerated, any such appeal is controlled by the Prison Litigation Reform Act, OCGA § 42-12-1 et seq., which requires any appeal in a civil case by a prisoner to come by discretionary application. See OCGA § 42-12-8.
Accordingly, this petition is hereby DISMISSED.