Opinion
A23A0640
12-07-2022
DEMETRIC JOSEPH v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In 2011, Demetric Joseph was convicted of armed robbery, criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Joseph thereafter filed a motion for new trial, which was amended numerous times. In July 2021, before deciding the new trial motion, the trial court granted Joseph's motion to represent himself in all post-conviction matters, including any direct appeal. That order further required the public defender assigned to represent Joseph to remain available to act as "consulting counsel" for Joseph.
On September 21, 2022, the trial court entered an order denying Joseph's motion for new trial, as amended. Acting on Joseph's behalf, his public defender filed a notice of appeal on October 14, 2022, and the appeal was docketed as Case No. A23A0640. On October 17, 2022, Joseph filed a pro se notice of appeal from the denial of his motion for new trial, and that appeal was docketed as Case No. A23A0641. The cases are duplicative, as they both seek to appeal the trial court's denial of Joseph's new trial motion. Moreover, the appellate records in both cases appear to be identical. Accordingly, in the interest of judicial economy, one of the appeals must be dismissed.
In light of the trial court's order granting Joseph's motion to represent himself, we dismiss the appeal in Case No. A23A0640, filed by the public defender. Given that the trial court's order further required the public defender to remain as consulting counsel, however, the public defender will be added as Joseph's co-counsel of record in Case No. A23A0641. In that capacity, the public defender may file a brief on Joseph's behalf, if that is Joseph's preference.
For the reasons set forth above, Case No. A23A0640 is hereby DISMISSED.