Opinion
A23A0886
03-27-2023
JOHNNY ANDREW MCGILL v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Prison inmate Johnny Andrew McGill filed a civil action against the State of Georgia. The trial court dismissed the action for want of prosecution, and McGill filed this direct appeal. We lack jurisdiction.
Because McGill 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 to the appropriate appellate court. 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). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.