Rontaveous Dotson v. State

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________
May 12, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26A0002. RONTAVEOUS DOTSON v. THE STATE.

On June 23, 2025, Rontaveous Dotson entered a non-negotiated guilty plea to
19 counts of burglary in the second degree. The trial court imposed a total sentence
of 25 years, with the first 16 to be served in confinement and the remainder to be
served on probation. Dotson then filed a notice of appeal.1 This Court, however, lacks
jurisdiction.
Effective May 14, 2025, OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (5.3) requires defendants to file
applications for discretionary review for “[d]irect appeals from guilty pleas.” See Ga.
L. 2025, p. 621, § 1-2. Thus, to appeal the judgment resulting from the entry of his
June 23 guilty plea, Dotson was required to file an application for discretionary appeal.
See OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (5.3). Compliance with the discretionary appeals procedure
is jurisdictional. Smoak v. Dept. of Human Resources, 221 Ga. App. 257, 257 (471 SE2d
60) (1996).

1
In his appellate brief, Dotson references two motions to withdraw his guilty
plea which he filed in the trial court. Neither the motions, nor any trial court ruling on
them, can be found in the record on appeal.
Dotson’s failure to follow the proper procedure deprives this Court of
jurisdiction over this appeal, which we hereby DISMISS.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
05/12/2026
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.