Nash N. Tuten v. Tammy Stokes, Judge

Court of Appeals
of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________
February 04, 2026

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A26E0138. NASH TUTEN v. TAMMY STOKES, JUDGE.

Appellant has petitioned this Court for a Writ of Mandamus ordering the
recusal of Judge Tammy Stokes of the Superior Court of Chatham County. But having
reviewed Appellant’s petition, this does not appear to be one of the rare instances that
will invoke this Court’s original mandamus jurisdiction.
In general, “the superior courts of this state have the power, in proper cases,
to issue process in the nature of mandamus, prohibition, specific performance, quo
warranto, and injunction, and hence the need to resort to the appellate courts for such
relief by petition filed in the appellate courts will be extremely rare.” Brown v.
Johnson, 251 Ga. 436, 436 (306 SE2d 655) (1983). Thus, before seeking to invoke this
Court’s original mandamus jurisdiction, the procedure which must be followed is to
first file the petition in the appropriate lower court. See Graham v. Cavender, 252 Ga.
123, 123 (311 SE2d 832) (1984); Expedia, Inc. v. City of Columbus, 305 Ga. App. 450,
455(2)(b) (699 SE2d 600) (2010) (“Except in the rarest of cases, litigants seeking to
invoke this Court’s original jurisdiction . . . must first petition the superior court for
such relief.”). Being a respondent, the superior court judge will disqualify; another
superior court judge “will be appointed to hear and determine the matter[;] and the
final decision” then may be appealed to this Court. Graham, 252 Ga. at 123.
In this matter, however, it is unclear from Appellant’s petition and the attached
exhibits as to whether he filed a petition in the lower court. And Court of Appeals
Rule 40(c)(2), in relevant part, provides that a petition for a writ of mandamus “shall
[i]nclude sufficient material to apprise the Court of the issues, in context, and to
support the arguments advanced. Failure to submit sufficient material to apprise the
Court of the issues and support the argument shall result in denial of the motion.”
Accordingly, Appellant’s petition is hereby DENIED. See Court of Appeals Rule
40(c)(2).

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________
02/04/2026
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.