Opinion
A23A1287
04-26-2023
EMBERY J. MCBRIDE v. GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Prison inmate Embery J. McBride filed a civil action against the Georgia Department of Corrections. The trial court granted the Department's motion to dismiss, and McBride filed this direct appeal. We lack jurisdiction.
Because McBride is incarcerated, his appeal is controlled by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, OCGA § 42-12-1 et seq. Under OCGA § 42-12-8, an appeal in a civil action filed by a prisoner "shall be as provided in Code Section 5-635." And under OCGA § 5-6-35, the party wishing to appeal must file an application for discretionary appeal. Because a prisoner has no right of direct appeal in civil cases, we lack jurisdiction to consider this direct appeal from the trial court's order. See Jones v. Townsend, 267 Ga. 489, 490-491 (480 S.E.2d 24) (1997).
Although McBride filed an emergency motion seeking an extension of time to file a discretionary application, the motion is untimely as explained in the order denying McBride's essentially identical motion in Case No. A23E0045.
Accordingly, McBride's emergency motion is DENIED, and this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.