Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ September 03, 2020 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A21A0149. JIMMY LEE JONES v. THE STATE.

After a jury trial, Jimmy Lee Jones was convicted of rape and child molestation. Jones filed a motion for new trial, which the trial court denied on November 21, 2019. On January 9, 2020, Jones filed a notice of appeal. We lack jurisdiction.

A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of entry of the judgment or trial court 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 appellate jurisdiction on this Court. Rowland v. State, 264 Ga. 872, 872 (1) (452 SE2d 756) (1995). Jones’s notice of appeal was untimely filed 49 days after the denial of his motion for new trial.

Consequently, we lack jurisdiction over this untimely appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED.

Because Jones was represented by counsel before the trial court, he is informed of the following in accordance with Rowland, 264 Ga. at 875-876 (2): This appeal has been dismissed because you failed to file a proper and 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 Jones and to his attorney, and the latter also is DIRECTED to send a copy to Jones.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 09/03/2020 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.