Terry Lee Battle v. Walter Berry, Warden ( 2020 )

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia
ATLANTA,____________________
June 30, 2020
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
A20A1895. TERRY LEE BATTLE v. WALTER BERRY, WARDEN.
Prison inmate Terry Lee Battle filed a civil action against Warden Walter
Berry. The trial court dismissed the action, and Battle filed this direct appeal. We lack
jurisdiction.
Battle is incarcerated, so his appeal is controlled by the Prison Litigation
Reform Act of 1996, OCGA § 42-12-1 et seq. Under OCGA § 42-12-8, an appeal in
a civil action filed by a prisoner “shall be as provided in Code Section 5-6-35.” And
under OCGA § 5-6-35, the party wishing to appeal must file an application for
discretionary appeal to the appropriate appellate court. Because a prisoner has no
right of direct appeal in civil cases, we lack jurisdiction to consider this direct appeal
from the superior court’s order. See Jones v. Townsend, 267 Ga. 489, 490 (480 SE2d
24) (1997). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.
Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
06/30/2020
I certify that the above is a true extract from
the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia.
Witness my signature and the seal of said court
hereto affixed the day and year last above written.
, Clerk.