Opinion
A23A0131
08-25-2022
MARQUIS DONTEZ JORDAN v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Marquis Dontez Jordan was convicted of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, cruelty to children in the third degree, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On direct appeal, this Court affirmed in part, vacated in part because one of the counts of aggravated assault should have merged with the count of criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, and remanded for resentencing. Case No. A21A0424 (June 28, 2021). Following a resentencing hearing at which Jordan was represented by counsel, the trial court issued an amended sentence on October 5, 2021, and Jordan filed a pro se notice of appeal on October 18, 2021. 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). Here, the record shows that Jordan was represented by counsel when the trial court entered its amended sentence, and nothing in the record indicates that counsel either withdrew or was relieved from representing Jordan. 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 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, Jordan's pro se notice of 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.