---
title: Merilien v. State
collection: opinions
id: S26A0704
cite_as: Merilien v. State, S26A0704 (Ga. Aug. 13, 2026)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26A0704
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26A0704.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26A0704/text
source_url: https://www.gasupreme.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/s26a0704.pdf
date: 2026-08-13
status: published
corpus_version: opinions-2026-09-14
license: Public record of the Supreme Court of Georgia, via CourtListener and the court's own website; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26A0682.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26A0716.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md
omitted: opinion extras
omitted_chars: 1732
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26A0704.md?full=1
docket: S26A0704
court: Supreme Court of Georgia
case_type: criminal appeal
case_name_full: Jean Jocelyn Merilien v. The State
authoring_justice: Pinson
disposition: Affirmed
vote: All the Justices concur, except Warren, P.J., not participating
word_count: 530
date_filed_source: courtlistener
record_source: gasupreme
legal_areas:
  - criminal law
  - appellate procedure
upstream_id: ga-s26a0704
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
---

# Merilien v. State

Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S26A0704, filed 2026-08-13.

## Opinion

NOTICE: This opinion is subject to modification resulting from motions for reconsideration under Supreme Court Rule 27, the Court’s reconsideration, and editorial revisions by the Reporter of Decisions. The version of the opinion published in the Advance Sheets for the Georgia Reports, designated as the “Final Copy,” will replace any prior version on the Court’s website and docket. A bound volume of the Georgia Reports will contain the final and official text of the opinion.

In the Supreme Court of Georgia

No. S26A0704

Jean Jocelyn Merilien

v.

The State

On Appeal from the Superior Court of Rockdale County

No. 2006CR1147

Decided: August 13, 2026

PINSON, Justice.

In 2006, Jean Jocelyn Merilien pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life plus five years to serve in prison. He did not appeal.

Just over 19 years later, on September 3, 2025, Merilien sought relief under OCGA § 5-6-39.1, which allows a defendant to move for leave to file an out-of-time notice of appeal within 100 days from the expiration of the time to appeal under certain cir- cumstances, or until June 30, 2026, if the defendant had an out- of-time notice of appeal (or motion seeking one) dismissed under Cook v. State, 313 Ga. 471 (2022). In a summary order, the trial court dismissed the motion for lack of jurisdiction.

That decision was correct. This Court held in Cook that a trial court lacks jurisdiction to consider a motion for leave to file an out-of-time notice of appeal. See Cook, 313 Ga. at 505–06. In response, the General Assembly enacted OCGA § 5-6-39.1, which grants trial courts jurisdiction to consider such motions. See id.

§ 5-6-39.1(a)(2). 1 But in doing so, that statute also sets time limits for filing such motions: a defendant may move for leave to file an out-of-time notice of appeal “within 100 days from the expiration of the time period for the filing of” a notice of appeal, id. § 5-6- 39.1(a)(1), or, if an earlier out-of-time notice of appeal or motion seeking one was dismissed under Cook, until June 30, 2026, id. § 5-6-39.1(a)(1). Like other statutory requirements for obtaining an appeal, these time limits for seeking leave to file a notice of appeal are jurisdictional. See, e.g., Kelly v. State, 311 Ga. 827, 828 (2021); State v. Wheeler, 310 Ga. 72, 73 (2020); Duke v. State, 306 Ga. 171, 186 (2019); Gable v. State, 290 Ga. 81, 85 (2011). And Merilien’s motion here meets neither of these time limits, because the time for Merilien to appeal his 2006 convictions expired far longer than 100 days ago, see id. § 5-6-39.1(a)(1), and the record does not show that he had a motion or out-of-time notice of appeal dismissed under Cook, see id. § 5-6-39.1(b). So the trial court lacked jurisdiction to consider Merilien’s motion, and it properly dismissed the motion on that basis.

Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur, except Warren, P.J., not participating.

1 Code section 5-6-39.1 also grants jurisdiction to consider a motion for leave to file an out-of-time motion for new trial.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the opinion above and is not part of the court's opinion. Quote the opinion, not the summary.

The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the dismissal of a Rockdale County man's attempt, nearly 19 years after his murder conviction, to file a late appeal, ruling the trial court had no legal authority to consider it.

### Plain-language summary

In 2006, Jean Jocelyn Merilien pleaded guilty in Rockdale County to two counts of murder and a firearms charge and was sentenced to life plus five years. He never appealed. Almost 19 years later, in September 2025, he asked a superior court for permission to file a late notice of appeal under a Georgia law, O.C.G.A. § 5-6-39.1, that lets defendants seek that kind of relief within certain time limits.
The trial court dismissed his request, saying it lacked jurisdiction (legal authority) to even consider it. Merilien appealed that dismissal to the Supreme Court of Georgia. The court agreed with the trial court: the statute only allows such motions within 100 days after the normal appeal deadline passes, or, in some cases, until June 30, 2026, if an earlier attempt was dismissed under a prior Supreme Court ruling called Cook v. State. Merilien met neither condition, so his motion was properly thrown out.

### Holding, as summarized

A trial court lacks jurisdiction to grant leave to file an out-of-time notice of appeal unless the defendant's motion is filed within 100 days after the normal appeal deadline expires, or, for certain defendants whose earlier out-of-time appeal attempts were dismissed under Cook v. State, by June 30, 2026.

### Disposition

Affirmed. All the Justices concur, except Warren, P.J., not participating.

### Why it matters

The ruling confirms that Georgia's new law allowing late appeals has strict deadlines that courts cannot waive. People convicted decades ago who never appealed, and who did not previously have a motion dismissed under the Cook decision, cannot use this law to revive their appeal rights now.

> The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions (1,732 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26A0704.md?full=1