Opinion
A21A1686
07-01-2021
LATOYA RENEE ORTIZ v. THE STATE.
Latoya Renee Ortiz pleaded guilty to multiple charges, and, in April 2017, the trial court sentenced her to a total of 40 years with 15 years to serve in prison. In August 2020, Ortiz filed an out-of-time motion to reduce or modify her sentence. On September 1, 2020, the trial court denied the motion, and Ortiz filed both a notice of appeal and an application for discretionary appeal from the order. Both the direct appeal and application were dismissed. See Case Nos. A21A0874 & A21D0228, dismissed March 10, 2021. On February 16, 2021, Ortiz filed a notice of appeal purporting to appeal both the original sentence as well as the September 1, 2020 denial of her motion to reduce or modify her sentence. We lack jurisdiction.
A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the trial court judgment or order sought to be appealed. OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872, 872 (1) (452 S.E.2d 756) (1995). Because Ortiz's notice of appeal is untimely with respect to both the April 2017 sentence and the September 2020 order, we lack jurisdiction.
Furthermore, Ortiz has already appealed the denial of the September 2020 order. Our dismissal of this prior appeal is res judicata. Williams v. State, 335 Ga.App. 468, 469 (1) (781 S.E.2d 791) (2016). Ortiz "is not entitled to multiple bites at the apple." Ross v. State, 310 Ga.App. 326, 328 (713 S.E.2d 438) (2011).
For these reasons, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.