Full Opinion

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia ATLANTA,____________________ September 11, 2026 The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order: A27A0214. LAMONT ANTHONY BARTON v. THE STATE. In April 2024, Lamont Anthony Barton entered a negotiated guilty plea to fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer, reckless driving, and failure to maintain lane. He was sentenced to a total of 36 months with the first 60 days to serve in confinement and the remainder to be served on probation. In an order entered in June 2025, the trial court subsequently tolled Barton’s sentence for failing to report to probation. On May 4, 2026, Barton filed a motion to vacate the tolling order. The trial court set a hearing on the motion for the morning of May 27, 2026, but Barton did not appear. Instead, that afternoon, he filed an “Emergency Motion to Stay Proceedings, Preserve Appellate Rights, and Emergency Judicial Review,” asserting that he never received proper mail notice, as well as a notice of appeal “from the judgment, sentence, probation-related proceedings, and related orders” entered in the case. That same day, the trial court dismissed Barton’s “pending motions” for “want of prosecution.” Barton did not appeal from that order. Shortly thereafter, Barton filed a motion to vacate the dismissal order and correct the record to reflect his correct address and pro se status. He also filed a motion to vacate the judgment and sentence as void, to correct the record, to preserve and certify the record pursuant to OCGA § 17-9-4 and, in the alternative, OCGA § 9- 11-60(d)(1), (d)(2), and (d)(3). On June 23, 2026, the trial court denied the motion to vacate the dismissal order, concluding that even if notice of the prior hearing had been sent to an incorrect address, Barton was actively using the e-filing system and therefore received legally sufficient notice at his registered e-filing email address. On July 15, 2026, Barton filed a “renewed” notice of appeal seeking to appeal the June 23 order as well as the earlier orders and the judgment of conviction and sentence. We, however, lack jurisdiction. A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of the entry of an appealable order or judgment. OCGA § 5-6-38(a). The proper and timely filing of a notice of appeal is an absolute requirement to confer jurisdiction upon this Court. Yanes v. Escobar, 362 Ga. App. 896, 898 (870 SE2d 506) (2022). Here, Barton filed his initial notice of appeal on May 27, 2026 — more than 11 months after the June 19, 2025 probation tolling order1 and more than two years after the April 10, 2024 judgment of conviction and sentence Barton sought to appeal. To the extent Barton’s “renewed” notice of appeal seeks to appeal the June 23, 2026 order, it is also untimely. His motion to vacate the dismissal order sought — in substance — reconsideration of the trial court’s dismissal of his pending motions. See Marshall v. State, 229 Ga. 841, 841(1) (195 SE2d 12) (1972) (explaining that “substance, not mere nomenclature” controls pleadings). A motion for reconsideration does not extend the time for filing an appellate challenge to an appealable order, and the denial of a motion for reconsideration is not appealable in its own right. See Bell v. Cohran, 244 Ga. App. 510, 510–11 (536 SE2d 187) (2000); Savage v. Newsome, 173 Ga. App. 271, 271 (326 SE2d 5) (1985). Accordingly, Barton’s July 15, 2026 notice of appeal was untimely filed 49 days after entry of the May 27, 1 Although the State alleged that Barton had violated his probation, it did not seek to revoke his probation. Thus, we do not consider this a probation revocation case subject to the discretionary appeal procedure of OCGA § 5-6-35(a)(5). Nevertheless, the probation tolling order is interlocutory, as it is not a final judgment and does not fall within the categories of orders subject to direct appeal under OCGA § 5-6-34(a). Accordingly, Barton was required to comply with the interlocutory appeal procedures — including obtaining a certificate of immediate review from the trial court — to obtain appellate review. See Boyd v. State, 191 Ga. App. 435, 435 (383 SE2d 906) (1989). 2026 dismissal order. Furthermore, to the extent Barton seeks to appeal the purported denial of his motion to vacate the judgment and sentence as void, the trial court did not rule on this motion. In the absence of a ruling, we have nothing to review. See Amica v. State, 307 Ga. App. 276, 282(2) (704 SE2d 831) (2010); see also Ward v. State, 299 Ga. App. 826, 827 (683 SE2d 894) (2009) (explaining that this Court is for the correction of errors and will not consider issues on which the trial court has not ruled). For these reasons, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED. Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 09/11/2026 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.