Summary
dismissing a direct appeal in a child custody proceeding because the mother's pro se notice of appeal, filed while she was represented by counsel, was a nullity
Summary of this case from Romich v. All Secure, Inc.Opinion
A21A0841
02-08-2021
In the INTEREST OF N. C. et al., children.
Shantricia Robinson, for Appellant. Christopher Michael Carr, Shalen S. Nelson, Atlanta, Emily Christine Long, for Appellee.
Shantricia Robinson, for Appellant.
Christopher Michael Carr, Shalen S. Nelson, Atlanta, Emily Christine Long, for Appellee.
Markle, Judge.
In this dependency and child custody proceeding, the juvenile court held a hearing on November 19, 2020, in which the children's mother, Shantricia Robinson, was represented by counsel. On November 24, 2020, the juvenile court entered an initial review order that addressed various custody-related issues. Robinson filed a pro se notice of appeal on December 4, 2020. We lack jurisdiction.
The juvenile court entered an order permitting Robinson's counsel to withdraw on December 17, 2020. Consequently – and pretermitting whether the November 24 order is directly appealable – Robinson was represented by counsel when she filed her December 4 pro se notice of appeal, which therefore is a nullity. See Jacobsen v. Haldi , 210 Ga. App. 817, 819 (1), 437 S.E.2d 819 (1993) (under the state constitution, "a layperson does not have the right to represent h[er]self and also be represented by an attorney," and a party thus "cannot attempt to represent herself by filing pro se pleadings, while at the same time she is represented by counsel of record") (punctuation omitted); accord Ringold v. State , 309 Ga. 443, 445-446, 847 S.E.2d 181 (2020) (the defendant's pro se motion to withdraw his guilty plea, filed 12 days before the trial court granted his counsel's motion to withdraw, "was a legal nullity that presented nothing for the trial court to decide"); see also Tolbert v. Toole , 296 Ga. 357, 361-363 (3), 767 S.E.2d 24 (2014) ; Soberanis v. State , 345 Ga. App. 403, 405, 812 S.E.2d 800 (2018). As a result, Robinson's appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. See Soberanis , 345 Ga. App. at 405, 812 S.E.2d 800.
Appeal dismissed.
Barnes, P. J., and Gobeil, J., concur.