Thornton v. State, 29744
| Decision Date | 27 May 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 29744,29744 |
| Citation | 216 S.E.2d 330,234 Ga. 480 |
| Parties | John William THORNTON v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Edwin M. Saginar, Atlanta, for appellant.
Syllabus Opinion by the Court
This is an appeal from an interlocutory order of the Superior Court of Clayton County which denied appellant's plea of 'autrefois acquit' to a second prosecution for the misdemeanor of child abandonment. Code Ann. Sec. 74-9902. Appellant argues on appeal that his plea in bar should have been sustained and that Sec. 74-9902 is unconstitutional. The only issue ruled on and certified for review was the question of 'autrefois acquit.' This court will not pass upon the constitutionality of a statute unless it clearly appears that the point was properly raised in the trial court and passed on. Tant v. State, 226 Ga. 761, 177 S.E.2d 484 (1970). Where the only constitutional question passed on involves simply an application of unquestioned and unambiguous provisions of the State or Federal Constitution, appellate jurisdiction is in the Court of Appeals. Reid v. State,223 Ga. 376, 155 S.E.2d 22 (1967). An appeal from the overruling of a plea of 'autrefois acquit' falls within this rule. Meadows v. State, 170 Ga. 802, 154 S.E. 188 (1930); Letbedder v. State, 129 Ga.App. 196, 199 S.E.2d 270 (1973), cert. denied, 129 Ga.App. 920, U.S. cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1134, 94 S.Ct. 877, 38 L.Ed.2d 759 (1974).
Transferred to the Court of Appeals.
All the Justices concur.
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...would be dismissed when raised for the first time in federal courts. This is the rule applied by our state supreme court. Thornton v. State, 234 Ga. 480, 216 S.E.2d 330. In Morgan v. Kiff, 230 Ga. 277, 196 S.E.2d 445, our supreme court was faced with the constitutional issue of search and s......
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...the point was properly raised in the trial court and passed on. Tant v. State, 226 Ga. 761, 177 S.E.2d 484 (1970)." Thornton v. State, 234 Ga. 480, 216 S.E.2d 330 (1975).' [Emphasis in original.] Alexander v. State, 239 Ga. 810, 239 S.E.2d 18 (1977)." Hardison v. Haslam, 250 Ga. 59, 61(3), ......
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...has no jurisdiction to inquire into the constitutionality of the statute in question. See Code Ann. §§ 2-3704, 2-3708; Thornton v. State, 234 Ga. 480, 216 S.E.2d 330. It follows this enumeration presents nothing for this court to 2. The first and third enumerations of error assert that the ......
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...the point was properly raised in the trial court and passed on. Tant v. State, 226 Ga. 761, 177 S.E.2d 484 (1970).' Thornton v. State, 234 Ga. 480, 216 S.E.2d 330 (1975)." (Emphasis supplied.) Alexander v. State, 239 Ga. 810, 239 S.E.2d 18 (1977). Even if it be assumed that the superior cou......