Full Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ October 20, 2026 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A26A1329. JERIOD MATHIS v. THE STATE. Following his April 2022 trial, Jeriod Mathis was convicted of one count of aggravated battery, and acquitted on the remaining charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Jeriod Mathis timely filed a motion for new trial which the trial court denied. Mathis’s notice of appeal was docketed in this Court on February 12, 2026, and an appellate brief was filed on his behalf on February 23, 2026 by Georgia Public Defender Council (“GPDC”) appellate attorney, Nedra Woods. On August 17, 2026, Cynthia Wright Harrison, the managing appellate attorney for the GPDC, filed a motion to remand this case. Harrison’s motion mistakenly identified Mathis’s appellate attorney as Marilyn Tyler, and represented that the Georgia Supreme Court determined that the briefs submitted by Tyler to the Georgia appellate courts were “substantially deficient.” Thus, Harrison asserted that remanding the case was appropriate for Mathis to receive effective appellate representation. The State filed a response to the motion, noting that Tyler was not the attorney responsible for the preparation of Mathis’s brief. Harrison subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the motion to remand. Although Tyler is listed as one of the attorneys of record in this case, Mathis’s appellate brief was prepared by Woods. Nevertheless, we have reviewed the brief submitted by Woods in this case and its also appears to be substantially deficient and well below the standards of the attorneys practicing before this Court. See Court of Appeals Rule 25. Among the most egregious errors contained in the brief are Woods’s misrepresentation of the convictions at issue, specifically identifying and arguing the lack of evidence to sustain Mathis’s convictions for aggravated assault and felony murder. Mathis was found not guilty of aggravated assault and he was not indicted or tried for felony murder. Harrison’s motion to dismiss the motion to remand is thus DENIED. Because this is Mathis’s first appeal of right, he is constitutionally entitled to the effective representation of counsel. See Hall v. Jackson, 310 Ga. 714, 720(2)(a) (854 SE2d 539) (2021). Separately, this Court must decide this case within the constraints of our State Constitution’s two-term rule. See Ga. Const. of 1983, Art. VI, Sec. IX, Par. II. Given Mathis’s appellate rights and this Court’s obligations under our two-term rule, we hereby GRANT the motion to remand and REMAND the case to the trial court for the court to expeditiously determine whether Mathis wants to retain new counsel for the purposes of appeal, to be appointed new counsel if he is indigent, or to proceed pro se (after a proper waiver of counsel). After the trial court has made this determination, the court’s clerk is DIRECTED to transmit this order along with any additional record to this Court, at which time Mathis’s appeal will be re-docketed with a new case number. The trial court is also DIRECTED to send a copy of this order to Mathis. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 10/20/2026 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.