In 1999, Robert L. Meriwether was convicted of kidnapping with bodily harm, aggravated assault, battery, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime, for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. His convictions were affirmed on appeal in an unpublished opinion. See Meriwether v. State , Case. No. A01A2134 (decided December 7, 2001). After filing numerous motions over the years, in October 2016, Meriwether filed a “Motion to Set Aside Void Conviction; Kidnapping with Bodily Injury, under ‘New Rule of Criminal Law,’” in which he argued that the standard set forth in Garza v. State , 284 Ga. 696 (670 SE2d 73) (2008), should be applied to set aside his conviction. ^[1] The trial court denied the motion and Meriwether filed this direct appeal.

However, “a petition to vacate or modify a judgment of conviction is not an appropriate remedy in a criminal case.” Harper v. State , 286 Ga. 216, 218 (1) (686 SE2d 786) (2009). An appeal from an order denying or dismissing such a motion must be dismissed. See id. at 218 (2); Roberts v. State , 286 Ga. 532, 532 (690 SE2d 150) (2010). Accordingly, Meriwether’s appeal is hereby DISMISSED.

*2 Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________ 08/24/2017 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.

[1] Meriwether previously filed a direct appeal from the denial of his motion to set aside a void sentence, which was dismissed by this Court because he did not raise a valid void sentence claim, but rather challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction for kidnapping with bodily injury. See Case No. A16A1340 (decided April 7, 2016).