Opinion
A25A0174
09-05-2024
MILTON MCDOWELL, JR. v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Milton McDowell, Jr. was convicted at trial of felony murder and other crimes, and the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed his convictions. McDowell v. State, 284 Ga. 666 (670 S.E.2d 438) (2008). In December 2022, McDowell filed a pro se extraordinary motion for new trial, which the trial court dismissed. Thereafter, he filed a pro se motion, which the trial court construed as a motion for reconsideration and denied. McDowell then filed this direct appeal. We, however, lack jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court of Georgia has appellate jurisdiction over "[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed." Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (8). Because a penalty of death may be imposed for the crime of felony murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court. See OCGA § 16-5-1 (c), (e) (1); Neal v. State, 290 Ga. 563, 572 (722 S.E.2d 765) (2012) (Hunstein, C. J., concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524, 524 (1) (322 S.E.2d 711) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer "all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder"), overruled in part on other grounds as recognized in Elliott v. State, 305 Ga. 179, 205 (III) (C) (i) (824 S.E.2d 265) (2019). The Supreme Court's jurisdiction over murder cases includes appeals from orders resolving post-judgment motions in such cases. See Simpson v. State, 292 Ga. 764, 764 (740 S.E.2d 124) (2013) (appeal from denial of motion attacking murder convictions as void).
Accordingly, this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court of Georgia for disposition.