Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,_________________ May 30, 2012 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A12A1890. MICHAEL BRYANT v. THE STATE.

Michael Bryant was found guilty of possession of a controlled substance and other crimes. He filed a motion for new trial, which the trial court denied by order entered February 29, 2012. Thirty-three days later, on April 2, 2012, Bryant filed a notice of appeal. To be timely, however, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order on appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-38 (a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction on this Court. See Couch v. United Paperworkers Intl. Union, 224 Ga. App. 721 (482 SE2d 704) (1997). Accordingly, we lack jurisdiction to consider Bryant’s appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED as untimely.

Because Bryant was represented by counsel, we inform him of the following pursuant to Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872 (452 SE2d 756) (1995): This appeal has been dismissed because your counsel failed to file a timely notice of appeal. If you still wish to appeal, you may petition the trial court for leave to file an out-of-time appeal. If the trial court grants your request, you will have 30 days from the entry of that order to file a notice of appeal referencing your conviction. If the trial court denies your request, you will have 30 days from the entry of that order to file a notice of appeal referencing the denial of your request for an out-of-time appeal.

The Clerk of Court is directed to send a copy of this order to Bryant and to Bryant’s attorney, who is also directed to send a copy to Bryant.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 05/30/2012 Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,_________________ 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.