Is a Written Order Required for Direct Appeal From Criminal Motions?

By Ben Sessions on May 10th, 2016 in Criminal Defense

There are very few criminal motions that remain directly appealable. Direct appeal motions however, for those that remain directly appealable, one of the issues that plague criminal defense attorneys is when the notice can and should be filed. This issue is vitally important because it determines whether the appellate court has jurisdiction over the appeal. One of the concerns that criminal defense attorneys should have is whether the notice of appeal may be filed without a written order being entered on the pre-trial motion that is being appealed from. This issue is addressed in Tolbert:

The appeal at issue here would properly have been dismissed, because the trial court’s oral ruling had not been reduced to an appealable written order. See Hill v. State, 281 Ga. 795, 799, 642 S.E.2d 64 (2007) (stating that an “oral order [is] neither final nor appealable until and unless it is reduced to writing, signed by the judge, and filed with the clerk”). That would not have meant, however, that the trial court retained jurisdiction.

Tolbert v. Toole, 296 Ga. 357, 360-61, 767 S.E.2d 24, 27 (2014).

So, if a written order is required, what is not clear are the steps that should be taken by a lawyer if the trial court denies an otherwise directly appealable order but refuses to enter a written order prior to trial?

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The Sessions Law Firm

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Atlanta, GA 30305

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