Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ August 27, 2015 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A15A2386. CHRISTIAN HIRAM LOPEZ MORALES v. THE STATE.

Christian Hiram Lopez Morales was convicted of rape and sentenced to life in prison. On June 17, 2015, the trial court entered an order denying his motion for a new trial. On July 23, 2015, Morales filed a notice of appeal. We lack jurisdiction.

To be timely, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the order sought to be appealed. 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.

Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872, 872 (1) (452 SE2d 756) (1995). Morales’s notice of appeal is untimely, as it was filed 36 days after entry of the order he seeks to appeal.

Accordingly, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.

Because Morales is represented by counsel, he is informed of the following in accordance with Rowland v. State, supra at 875-876: This appeal has been dismissed because you 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 Morales and to his attorney, and the latter also is directed to send a copy to Morales.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia 08/27/2015 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.