James Fields v. State - Appeal Dismissed for Lack of Jurisdiction

Jump To

Top Caption Disposition Combined Opinion

Support FLP

CourtListener is a project of Free
Law Project, a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit. Members help support our work and get special access to features.

Please become a member today.

Join Free.law Now

April 17, 2026 Get Citation Alerts Download PDF Add Note

James Fields v. State

Court of Appeals of Georgia

• Citations: None known
• Docket Number: A26A0689

• Disposition: Dismissed

• Opinion

• Authorities (4)

• Cited By (0)

• Summaries (0)

• Similar Cases (0)

• PDF

Disposition

Dismissed

Combined Opinion

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________
April 17, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A0689. JAMES FIELDS v. THE STATE.

A grand jury indicted James Fields for one count each of malice murder (Count
1), felony murder (Count 3), and attempted armed robbery (Count 5), and three
counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (Counts 2, 4, and
6). At trial, the State orally moved for an order of nolle prosequi as to the firearm
charges in Counts 2 and 4, which are premised on the underlying felonies in,
respectively, Counts 1 and 3. While the trial court appears to have orally granted that
motion, no written order to that effect appears in the record on appeal. A jury
thereafter found Fields guilty of attempted armed robbery (Count 5) and the third
firearm charge (Count 6). The jury found him not guilty of malice murder (Count 1),
and the trial court declared a mistrial on the felony murder charge (Count 3) when the
jury was unable to reach a verdict on that count. The court subsequently dead-
docketed Counts 3 and 4, but the record on appeal contains no written disposition as
to Count 2. Fields filed a motion for a new trial, which the trial court denied, and this
appeal followed. We lack jurisdiction because the record contains no written
disposition as to Count 2, and the case therefore remains pending in the trial court.
Under OCGA § 5-6-34(a)(1), appeals typically may be taken from “[a]ll final
judgments, that is to say, where the case is no longer pending in the court below.”
When a case remains pending in the lower court, an appellant generally must comply
with the interlocutory appeal procedures — including obtaining a certificate of
immediate review from the trial court — to initiate an appeal. See OCGA § 5-6-34(b);
Boyd v. State, 191 Ga. App. 435, 435 (383 SE2d 906) (1989). “[W]hen a defendant is
prosecuted on a multiple-count indictment, the case is not final and appealable until
the trial court enters a written judgment on each count of the indictment.” Seals v.
State, 311 Ga. 739, 742 (2)(a) (860 SE2d 419) (2021), disapproved in part on other
grounds, Gonzales v. State, 315 Ga. 661, 665 (1)(b) n.7 (884 SE2d 339) (2023). See also
Bonner v. State, 182 Ga. App. 133, 134 (355 SE2d 91) (1987) (“There can be no appeal
from an oral announcement that a judgment will be rendered, since no judgment is
effective until it is signed by the judge and filed with the clerk.” (quotation marks
omitted)). In other words, “when at least one count of a multi-count indictment
remains pending below, no count may be appealed as a final judgment,” and “a case
is pending below when one or more counts of a multi-count complaint or indictment
have not been resolved.” Seals, 311 Ga. at 742–43(2)(a). Because the record here
contains no written disposition of Count 2, Fields was required to comply with the
OCGA § 5-6-34(b) interlocutory appeal procedures and obtain a certificate of
immediate review to appeal his convictions and the denial of his motion for a new
trial.1 See Boyd, 191 Ga. App. at 435. His failure to do so deprives us of jurisdiction
over this appeal, which is hereby DISMISSED. See id. Fields may seek appropriate
appellate review upon the entry of a final judgment in this case.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
04/17/2026
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.

1
By statute, the dead-docketing of Counts 3 and 4 does not affect the finality of
the trial court’s judgment. See OCGA § 5-6-34(a)(1).