Opinion
A21A1616
10-19-2021
EDWARD TYRONE RIDLEY v. ARTHUR PARKER et al.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
The trial court entered an order denying prison inmate Edward Tyrone Ridley's petition for an emergency writ of mandamus. Ridley then filed a notice of appeal to this Court. We, however, lack jurisdiction.
While judgments and orders granting or refusing to grant mandamus relief are generally directly appealable, see OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (7), under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, any appeal in a civil case that was initiated by a prisoner must come by discretionary application. See OCGA § 42-12-8; Brock v. Hardman, 303 Ga. 729, 731 (2) (814 S.E.2d 736) (2018). "Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure is jurisdictional." Smoak v. Dept. of Human Res., 221 Ga.App. 257, 257 (471 S.E.2d 60) (1996). Ridley was thus not entitled to file this direct appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.