Rule 44.12.Ruling on Petition

Rule 44.12 sets the deadline for the court’s decision. The judge must rule on the petition, and issue written findings of fact and conclusions of law as required by OCGA § 9-14-49, within ninety days of whichever brief comes last: the respondent’s brief, or the petitioner’s reply brief if one was filed.

That “whichever comes last” structure matters. If the petitioner never files a reply brief, the ninety-day clock starts running from the respondent’s brief instead. Either way, the rule guarantees a defined outer point by which the court must act, even though the exact calendar date depends on how the briefing under Rule 44.11 unfolds.

Requiring written findings of fact and conclusions of law — not just a bare grant or denial — gives both sides, and any reviewing court, a reasoned explanation of how the judge reached the decision on a case where a death sentence is at stake.