Opinion
A22A1238
05-02-2022
SIFUR RAHAMAN v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In 2018, Sifur Rahaman was convicted of aggravated battery. He filed a timely motion for new trial, which the trial court denied in November 2020. The following year, Rahaman filed a motion for an out-of-time appeal, asserting that he had not received notice of the denial of his motion for new trial until July 2021. The trial court granted Rahaman an out-of-time appeal, and he filed this appeal.
The Georgia Supreme Court recently eliminated the judicially created out-of-time-appeal procedure in trial courts. Cook v. State, ___ Ga. ___ (5) (Case No. S21A1270, decided March 15, 2022) (applying the holding "to all cases that are currently on direct review or otherwise not yet final"). In light of Cook, Rahaman has filed a motion to remand this case to the superior court to determine whether he received timely notice of the denial of his motion for new trial and, if not, to allow the trial court to re-enter the order denying his motion for new trial. See, e.g., McCurley v. State, 345 Ga.App. 856, 857 (815 S.E.2d 188) (2018).
The trial court's order granting the motion for out-of-time appeal is hereby VACATED, Rahaman's motion to remand is hereby GRANTED, and this case is REMANDED to the trial court to determine if Rahaman received timely notice of the denial of his motion for new trial. On remand, the trial court is DIRECTED to enter an order dismissing the motion for an out-of-time appeal. See Rutledge v. State, ___ Ga. ___ (Case No. S21A1036, decided March 15, 2022).