Ga. Ct. App. R. 31
An application for discretionary appeal must generally be filed in this Court within 30 days of the date of the entry of the trial court's order being appealed, although pursuant to OCGA § 44-7-56, a discretionary application involving a dispossessory action must be filed within seven days of the entry of the trial court's order. The trial court's order is entered on the date it is filed with the trial court clerk.
The applicant bears the burden of persuading the Court that the application should be granted. An application for leave to appeal a final judgment in cases subject to discretionary appeal under OCGA § 5-6-35 will be granted only when:
An application filed by an attorney seeking to rely on the standard set forth in Rule 31(b) (3) or (b) (4) must be accompanied by a certificate of good faith stating as follows:
" I, the undersigned attorney of record in this case, am a member of the State Bar of Georgia in good standing and make this certificate of good faith as required by Rule 31 of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. I hereby certify that I am familiar with the trial court record in this case and based on the record and my understanding of the applicable law, I have a good faith belief that this application has merit and that it is not filed for the purpose of delay, harassment, or embarrassment. I further certify that I have been authorized by my client, the applicant, to file this application.
This the _____day of_____________, 20__. "
If the application is nevertheless found to be frivolous, a sanction of up to $2,500 may be imposed upon the attorney filing it. See Rule 7(e) (2), Contempt Penalty.
Discretionary applications must contain a stamped "filed" copy of the trial court's order or judgment from which the appeal is sought. The stamped "filed" copy of the trial court's order or judgment must contain the signature of the trial court judge. Neither conformed signatures nor stamped signatures are permitted except for those courts in which the official practice is for the judge to electronically sign or stamp his or her signature. The Court will return any application not containing a stamped "filed" copy of the trial court order or judgment on which the application is based.
The Clerk shall not receive an application unless filing fees have been paid or an exception set out in Rule 5 has been met. See OCGA § 5-6-4. The filing fee shall be in the amount set out in Rule 5. The filing date is the date the application is received in conformity with all court rules and all applicable fees are paid.
The applicant shall include with the application a copy of any petition or motion that led directly to the order or judgment being appealed and a copy of any responses to the petition or motion.
Applications for discretionary appeal pursuant to OCGA § 5-6-35 must include sufficient material to apprise the Court of the appellate issues, in context, and to support the arguments advanced. Failure to submit sufficient material to apprise the Court of the issues and support the argument shall result in denial of the application.
Applicants who are represented by counsel must efile applications pursuant to Court of Appeals Rule 46, Electronic Filing of Documents, and in compliance with this Court's efiling instructions. Pro se parties may either efile or file paper documents.
"I, the undersigned attorney of record in the above-styled case, certify that all of the documents that have been uploaded as exhibits are directly relevant to the arguments raised in the application, are necessary to apprise the Court of the appellate issues, and support the arguments advanced in the application. "
If the application materials are nevertheless found to include unnecessary or duplicative exhibits, a sanction of up to $2,500 may be imposed on the attorney filing the application. See Rule 7(e) (2), Contempt Penalty.
No application for discretionary appeal shall be filed under seal unless counsel has moved the Court for permission to file under seal and the Court has granted the motion.
No extensions of time will be granted to file a discretionary application unless a motion for extension is filed on or before the application due date. The motion for an extension of time shall be submitted pursuant to Rule 40(b), Emergency Motions. The filing fee for the Rule 40(b) motion is separate from the discretionary application fee. No extension of time will be granted to file a response to a discretionary application.
Responses are due within 10 days of docketing. No response is required, unless ordered by the Court.
If the discretionary application is granted, the appellant must file a notice of appeal in the trial court within 10 days of the date of the order granting the application.
No pleadings will be accepted on an application for discretionary appeal which are filed more than 30 days after the date of the order granting, denying, or dismissing the application or denying or dismissing the motion for reconsideration.
Ga. Ct. App. 31