Opinion
A22A1379
05-23-2022
EDWARD TYRONE RIDLEY v. DORIS TIMMONS et al.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
Edward Tyrone Ridley filed this pro se civil action against several prison officials at Wilcox State Prison and another employee of the Department of Corrections, asserting that they denied his attempts to send certified mail. The trial court dismissed the action for failure to comply with the requirements of the Georgia Tort Claims Act, and Ridley filed this direct appeal. We lack jurisdiction.
At the time he filed the underlying lawsuit, Ridley was incarcerated at Wilcox State Prison. In the notice of appeal, he gives Washington State Prison as his address.
Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, an appeal in a civil action filed by a prisoner must be initiated by filing an application for discretionary review. See OCGA § 42-12-8; OCGA § 5-6-35; 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 Resources, 221 Ga.App. 257, 257 (471 S.E.2d 60) (1996). Because Ridley was incarcerated when he filed this civil action, his failure to comply with the discretionary appeals procedure deprives us of jurisdiction over this direct appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED. See Brock, 303 Ga. at 731 (2).