Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ May 19, 2025 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A25D0375. IN RE T. F. T. et al., CHILDREN (FATHER).

The trial court terminated Jason Michael Tabb’s parental rights and granted Christopher Robert Carroll’s petition to adopt Tabb’s biological children. Tabb, who is incarcerated, has filed a timely application for discretionary review of the trial court’s order. He appears to raise a due process challenge to both the adoption and to the termination of his parental rights. For the reasons that follow, Tabb is entitled to appeal the order directly.

As an initial matter, while the Prison Litigation Reform Act, OCGA § 42-12-8, requires that “[a]ppeals of all actions filed by prisoners” come by discretionary application, Tabb did not file the underlying adoption petition. Thus, OCGA § 42-12-8 does not apply. See In the Interest of B. A .S., 254 Ga. App. 430, 433 (1) (563 SE2d 141) (2002). Furthermore, an application is not required under OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (12), which provides that appeals from orders terminating parental rights require an application for discretionary review. Orders that both terminate parental rights and grant adoptions may be appealed directly, as long as the appellant raises arguments challenging the adoption. See Sauls v. Atchison, 326 Ga. App. 301, 303-304 (1) (756 SE2d 577) (2014); see, e.g., Hafer v. Lowry, 320 Ga. App. 76 (739 SE2d 84) (2013) (direct appeal of order terminating father’s rights and granting stepparent adoption of child).

Under OCGA § 5-6-35 (j), this Court will grant an otherwise timely discretionary application if the trial court’s order is subject to direct appeal. Because the trial court’s order here is subject to direct appeal, Tabb’s application is hereby GRANTED. He shall have 10 days from the date of this order to file a notice of appeal with the trial court. If he has already filed a notice of appeal from the trial court’s order, he need not file a second notice. The trial court clerk is instructed to include a copy of this order in the appellate record.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 05/19/2025 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.