Opinion
A24A0445
11-01-2023
LESLIE HARRIS v. THE STATE.
The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:
In 2019, Leslie Harris pleaded guilty to murder, armed robbery, and other crimes, and received a sentence of life plus five years in incarceration. Harris thereafter filed a timely motion to withdraw her guilty plea. The trial court denied that motion, and Harris filed this appeal.
The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over "[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed." Ga. Const of 1983, Art VI, Sec VI, Par III (8) Because a penalty of death may be imposed for the crime of murder, jurisdiction is in the Supreme Court See OCGA § 16-5-1 (a), (e) (1); Neal v State, 290 Ga 563, 572 (722 S.E.2d 765) (2012) (Hunstein, C J, concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524, 524 (1) (322 S.E.2d 711) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer to the Supreme Court "all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder, and all pre-conviction appeals in murder cases"), overruled in part on other grounds as recognized in Elliott v. State, 305 Ga. 179, 205 (III) (C) (i) (824 S.E.2d 265) (2019).
Accordingly, this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.