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Moreland v. State

A petition to vacate or modify a judgment of conviction is not recognized as an appropriate remedy in a criminal case.

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Defendant was convicted of felony murder and this Court affirmed his conviction on appeal. Moreland v. State , 279 Ga. 641 619 SE2d 626 2005. Thereafter, defendant filed several motions, including a “motion to address against void judgment” in which he argued that the indictment was void. Citing Williams v. State , 283 Ga. 94 656 SE2d 144 2008, which pre-dated Chester v. State , 284 Ga. 162 664 SE2d 220 2008, the trial court dismissed defendant’s motions on the ground that OCGA § 17-9-4 does not authorize an attack on a criminal conviction.1 This appeal followed. We affirm. In Harper v. State , __Ga.__ Case No. S09A1019, decided November 23, 2009, this Court overruled Chester to the extent that Chester allowed OCGA § 17-9-4 to be used to challenge a void conviction. In so doing, this Court

announced that it was reverting to its pre-Chester jurisprudence and that, therefore, a petition to vacate or modify a judgment of conviction will not be recognized as an appropriate remedy in a criminal case. Given our holding in Harper , we conclude that the trial court properly dismissed defendant’s motions.

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