Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,__________________ December 04, 2013 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A14A0411. EMBERY J. MCBRIDE v. JAMES E. DONALD, CHAIRMAN, et al.

Prison inmate Embery McBride filed this civil action against James Donald, Chairman of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, et al. The trial court dismissed the action on the ground that McBride failed to perfect service of process. McBride then appealed directly to this Court.

Because McBride was incarcerated when he initiated this action, his appeal is controlled by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, OCGA § 42-12-1 et seq.

OCGA § 42-12-8 requires that an appeal of a civil action filed by a prisoner “shall be as provided in Code Section 5-6-35.” Under OCGA § 5-6-35 (b), the party wishing to appeal must file an application for discretionary appeal with the appropriate appellate court. McBride did not file an application for discretionary appeal in this case, and his failure to do so deprives this Court of jurisdiction over this direct appeal. See Jones v. Townsend, 267 Ga. 489, 491 (480 SE2d 24) (1997).

Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 12/04/2013 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.