Leticia Guyton v. Tanja Boyd-Witherspoon - Case Transfer

GA Court of Appeals Opinions

Filed March 6th, 2026

Detected March 7th, 2026

Summary

The Court of Appeals of Georgia has transferred the case of Leticia Guyton v. Tanja Boyd-Witherspoon to the Magistrate Court of DeKalb County. The court determined it lacked jurisdiction over the appeal from the Magistrate Court's order.

View original document View source feed page

What changed

The Court of Appeals of Georgia, in the case of Leticia Guyton v. Tanja Boyd-Witherspoon (Docket Number A26D0368), has issued an order transferring the case to the Magistrate Court of DeKalb County. The appellate court determined it lacked jurisdiction to hear the discretionary review of an order from the Magistrate Court of DeKalb County, citing OCGA § 15-10-41(b) and Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. I, Par. VIII, which generally require appeals from magistrate court judgments to be reviewed by a state or superior court first.

This action means the case will be sent back to the DeKalb County Magistrate Court with instructions to transmit it to the appropriate state or superior court for further disposition. Legal professionals involved in this case should note the transfer and ensure all filings and communications are directed to the correct court. The ruling is limited by the available information and does not preclude the lower courts from making their own jurisdictional determinations.

What to do next

Ensure all case-related filings are directed to the appropriate state or superior court in DeKalb County.
Review internal procedures for handling appeals from magistrate court judgments to ensure compliance with jurisdictional rules.

Source document (simplified)

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

March 6, 2026 Get Citation Alerts Download PDF Add Note

Leticia Guyton v. Tanja Boyd-Witherspoon

Court of Appeals of Georgia

Citations: None known
Docket Number: A26D0368
Disposition: Transferred To Superior/State Court
Opinion
Authorities (0)
Cited By (0)
Summaries (0)
Similar Cases (0)
PDF

Disposition

Transferred To Superior/State Court

Combined Opinion

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________
March 06, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26D0368. LETICIA GUYTON v. TANJA BOYD-WITHERSPOON.

Leticia Guyton filed this application seeking discretionary review an order of
the Magistrate Court of DeKalb County granting a writ of possession to Tanja Boyd-
Witherspoon. We lack jurisdiction.
Ordinarily, the only avenue of appeal available from a magistrate court
judgment is provided by OCGA § 15-10-41(b), which provides for appellate review in
the state or superior court. See Tate v. Habif, 367 Ga. App. 435, 438–39(2) (886 SE2d
389) (2023). Thus, this Court has jurisdiction to address a magistrate court order only
if the order has been reviewed by a state or superior court. See Harris v. Reserve at
Hollywood LLC, 376 Ga. App. 553, 553 (920 SE2d 163) (2025). The Georgia
Constitution, however, provides that “[a]ny court shall transfer to the appropriate
court in the state any civil case in which it determines that jurisdiction or venue lies
elsewhere.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. I, Par. VIII; accord Court of Appeals
Rule 11(b).
To the extent this filing may be construed as a notice of appeal, it is hereby
TRANSFERRED to the Magistrate Court of DeKalb County with direction to
transmit the case to the state or superior court of DeKalb County for disposition as
appropriate.1

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
03/06/2026
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
We recognize that we are in possession of limited material and that our
determination that jurisdiction may lie in another court is limited by the dearth of
information. Thus, our ruling should not constrain the magistrate court or the state
or superior court to the extent those courts determine either that Leticia Guyton has
not perfected a right to appeal or that those courts lack jurisdiction.