Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ September 16, 2019 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A20A0303. SYLVESTER RICHARDSON v. THE STATE.

A jury found Sylvester Richardson guilty of malice murder and other crimes.

He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus five years. Richardson filed a timely motion for new trial, which the trial court denied as to his convictions for malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.1 After he was granted the right to file an out-of-time appeal, Richardson filed the instant direct appeal.

Under our Constitution, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over “[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (8). Because a penalty of death can be imposed for the crime of malice murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court.

See OCGA § 16-5-1 (a), (e) (1); Neal v. State, 290 Ga. 563, 572 (722 SE2d 765) (2012) (Hunstein, C. J., concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524, 524 (1) (322 SE2d 711) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer “all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder”).

The trial court vacated Richardson’s conviction for armed robbery and stated that he would be re-sentenced at a later date.

Accordingly, Richardson’s appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 09/16/2019 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.