Opinion
A24A1525
10-25-2024
STEVIE PORTER v. THE STATE
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Stevie Porter was convicted of child molestation and other crimes Porter was represented by retained counsel at trial. Porter fired his subsequent appellate counsel before his motion for new trial hearing, where he proceeded pro se. After his motion for new trial was denied, Porter filed a notice of appeal pro se, and the clerk subsequently sent Porter a bill of costs for the appeal. Porter filed a pauper's affidavit and a motion for designation of indigency, and without determining whether Porter was indigent or not, the trial court waived the costs of this appeal. Now, Porter has filed a motion to supplement the record with a transcript of his motion for new trial proceedings.
In criminal cases, "[a]n indigent, on appeal, is entitled as a matter of right to a free copy of the transcript of trial court proceedings in which he has been a party." Stalling v. State, 231 Ga. 37, 38 (200 S.E.2d 121) (1973). Motions for new trial are part of the "proceedings" contemplated by this rule. Coleman v. State, 293 Ga.App. 251, 252 (1) (666 S.E.2d 620) (2008).
Porter filed a motion to establish his indigency, which was not explicitly ruled on by the trial court. If the trial court determines that Porter is indigent, he would be entitled to a transcript of the motion for new trial hearing which is not a part of the current record. Therefore, we must REMAND the case to give the trial court an opportunity to determine whether Porter is indigent and, if so, entitled to a free transcript of the motion for new trial hearing held on April 25, 2023.