Supreme Court of Georgia
Burkett v. State
May 19, 2026
Summary
The Supreme Court of Georgia held that it has jurisdiction to review the dismissal of Burkett's out-of-time notice of appeal motion and that the trial court erred in dismissing the motion based solely on Cook v. State; the dismissal is vacated and the case remanded for consideration under the new statutory criteria of OCGA §5-6-39.1. A separate note warns that defendants who miss the discretionary‑appeal deadline under OCGA §5-6-35 cannot rely on the out‑of‑time procedure to revive a direct appeal of a guilty plea.