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Final Copy 286 Ga. 407

S09C2010. JACKSON v. THE STATE. Nahmias, Justice. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's denial of Anthony Otto Jackson's pro se motion to vacate void judgment with respect to his 1996 convictions for armed robbery, burglary, and false imprisonment and his sentence. Jackson notified the Clerk of the Court of Appeals that he had been transferred to a different prison, but the Clerk continued to send correspondence to him at his old address. As a result, by the time Jackson received the Court of Appeals' opinion, the deadline for him to file a motion for reconsideration had passed. See Georgia Court of Appeals Rule 37 (b) ("Motions for reconsideration must be physically received in the Court for filing within 10 days of the order or judgment for which reconsideration is sought. See Rule 4 (b). No extension of time shall be granted except for providential cause on written motion made before the expiration of 10 days."). Jackson then contacted the Clerk of the Court of Appeals. The Clerk wrote a letter to Jackson acknowledging the error in his office, advising Jackson that the remittitur from the Court of Appeals to the trial court had already issued, and stating

that the Court of Appeals no longer had authority to recall the remittitur and consider a motion for reconsideration. The Clerk noted that Jackson could file a petition for writ of certiorari in this Court and request that we grant the petition and remand the case to the Court of Appeals with direction to recall the remittitur. Jackson then filed his petition for writ of certiorari, attaching the letter from the Clerk. The petition for certiorari that Jackson filed was untimely, and under normal circumstances we would dismiss it. See Supreme Court Rule 38 (2) ("The petition for certiorari shall be filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court within 20 days after the date of entry of judgment or the date of the disposition of the motion for reconsideration, if one is filed . . . ."). See also Supreme Court Rule 12 ("Extensions of time for filing petitions for certiorari, applications, and motions for reconsideration will be granted only in unusual circumstances and only if the request is filed before the time for filing the pleading has expired."). The Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of Jackson's motion to vacate his convictions on May 19, 2009, and the petition for writ of certiorari was not filed in this Court until August 17, 2009, long after the 20-day deadline passed. Because the deadlines are mandated by our own Court Rules, not statute, compare OCGA

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