Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________ April 14, 2020

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A20A1663. NICOLAS LOPEZ v. THE STATE.

A jury found Nicolas Lopez guilty of malice murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and the trial court sentenced Lopez to life imprisonment plus five years. Lopez filed a motion for new trial, which the trial court denied, and Lopez filed this direct appeal in this Court. Under our Constitution, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over “[a]ll cases in which a sentence of death was imposed or could be imposed.” Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III (8). Because a penalty of death can be imposed for the crime of malice murder, jurisdiction is proper in the Supreme Court. See OCGA § 16-5-1 (a), (e) (1); Neal v. State, 290 Ga. 563, 572 (722 SE2d 765) (2012) (Hunstein, C. J., concurring); see also State v. Thornton, 253 Ga. 524, 524 (1) (322 SE2d 711) (1984) (directing this Court to transfer “all cases in which either a sentence of death or of life imprisonment has been imposed upon conviction of murder”). Accordingly, this appeal is hereby TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition.

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 04/14/2020 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.