Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ September 30, 2024 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A25A0369. DEWEY SHEALEY v. F. GATES PEED.

After entering a guilty plea, Dewey Shealey filed a pro se mandamus petition to compel the trial court to grant him a right of direct appeal. The trial court dismissed the petition on July 10, 2024, and Shealey appealed this ruling on September 11, 2024.

We lack jurisdiction for at least two reasons.

First, 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 Shealey is incarcerated, he was required to file an application for discretionary appeal in order to appeal the civil mandamus ruling. See Brock v. Hardman, 303 Ga. 729, 731 (2) (814 SE2d 736) (2018).

Second, even if a direct appeal were proper in this case, this appeal is untimely.

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. Perlman v. Perlman, 318 Ga. App. 731, 739 (4) (734 SE2d 560) (2012). Shealey’s notice of appeal was filed 63 days after entry of the order he seeks to appeal.

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

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 09/30/2024 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.