Opinion
57013.
ARGUED NOVEMBER 14, 1979.
DECIDED DECEMBER 20, 1979.
Obstruction of private way. Fulton Superior Court. Before Judge Weltner.
Glyndon C. Pruitt, for appellant.
John C. Tyler, for appellee.
On certiorari to the Supreme Court, this case was reversed. Therefore Justice v. Dunbar, 149 Ga. App. 485 ( 254 S.E.2d 713) (1979), is vacated and the decision of the Supreme Court in Justice v. Dunbar, 244 Ga. 415, is adopted as the decision of this court.
It should be made clear, however, that this court is not bound by a statement of the Supreme Court as to what rules this court should adopt or how such rules should be enforced, provided such rules comply with the Constitution of this state.
We wish to emphasize that the rules of this court, specifically Rule 15 (c) (3) and its predecessors have always required: "Each enumerated error shall be supported in the brief by specific reference to the record or transcript or both." Code Ann. § 24-3615[c] [3] [i]. And, this court's decisions interpreting violations of this Code section — and its predecessors, have always concluded that the enumerated error is abandoned without a reference to the record or transcript to locate the alleged basis for such error. See Crider v. State, 115 Ga. App. 347 ( 154 S.E.2d 743); Strickland v. English, 115 Ga. App. 384, 386 ( 154 S.E.2d 710); Bode v. Northeast Realty Co., 117 Ga. App. 226 (1) ( 160 S.E.2d 228); Allen v. Carter, 119 Ga. App. 825 ( 168 S.E.2d 901). It should also be noted that the Supreme Court has a similar rule.
Further, the rule-making power of this court is the same as that of the Supreme Court. Art. VI, Sec. II, Par. VIII; Code Ann. § 2-3108. And, the Supreme Court has held that its rule-making power cannot be contravened by legislative statutes because it "has the authority under the Constitution to determine cases under such regulations as are prescribed by the court." Fuller v. State of Ga., 232 Ga. 581 ( 208 S.E.2d 85).
Strong policy considerations militate against this court adopting the view espoused by the Supreme Court. Due to the volume of cases before the Court of Appeals, an administrative nightmare would result if the judges on this court were required to conduct a "fishing expedition" for support in the record when such support is omitted by counsel. It would be equally untenable to require this court to continually call upon counsel to supplement their briefs with specific citations to the record. Counsel must be required to present their case to this court within established time limits.
We will expect the bar of this court to continue to abide by the rules of this court, including the rule which requires that each enumeration of error be supported in the brief by specific references to the record or transcript or both.
Judgment reversed. Deen, C. J., Quillian, P. J., McMurray, P. J., Shulman, Banke, Birdsong, Underwood and Carley, JJ., concur.