Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ February 11, 2020 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A20A1239. JAIRUS BERNARD MOORE v. TERRY E. BERNARD.

Prison inmate Jairus Bernard Moore filed a petition for writ of mandamus against the defendants, seeking to compel the State Board of Pardons and Paroles to consider him for parole. The trial court denied Moore’s filing. He then filed this direct appeal. We, however, lack jurisdiction.

While judgments and orders granting or refusing to grant mandamus relief are generally directly appealable, see OCGA § 5-6-34 (a) (7), under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, any appeal in a civil case that was initiated by a prisoner must come by discretionary application. See OCGA § 42-12-8; Jones v. Townsend, 267 Ga. 489, 490 (480 SE2d 24) (1997). Because Moore is incarcerated, he was required to file an application for discretionary appeal in order to appeal the mandamus ruling. See Brock v. Hardman, 303 Ga. 729, 731 (2) (814 SE2d 736) (2018).

For this reason, we lack jurisdiction over this direct appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 02/11/2020 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.