Opinion
A21A1617
07-26-2021
ANTHONY-VINCENT CARTMAN v. STATE OF GEORGIA.
Anthony-Vincent Cartman, who previously was convicted of one or more criminal offenses, filed a pleading purporting to be a petition for a writ of error coram nobis, in which he raised several challenges to the validity of one or more of his prior convictions. The trial court dismissed the petition, and Cartman filed this direct appeal. We lack jurisdiction.
Pleadings, motions, and orders must be construed according to their substance and function and not merely as to their nomenclature. Planet Ins. Co. v. Ferrell, 228 Ga.App. 264, 266 (491 S.E.2d 471) (1997); accord State v. Hasson, 334 Ga.App. 1, 3 (1) (778 S.E.2d 15) (2015). Although styled as a petition for a writ of error coram nobis, Cartman's pleading, in essence, seeks to vacate one or more of his prior convictions as void. 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 S.E.2d 786) (2009). Any appeal from an order denying or dismissing such a petition or motion must be dismissed. See Roberts v. State, 286 Ga. 532, 532 (690 S.E.2d 150) (2010); Harper, 286 Ga. at 218 (2). Consequently, this appeal is hereby DISMISSED.
A petition for a writ of error coram nobis is "the ancestor of an extraordinary motion for new trial based on newly discovered evidence." State v. Carrion, 327 Ga.App. 296, 297 (758 S.E.2d 632) (2014) (punctuation omitted). In his petition, Cartman neither sought a new trial nor pointed to any newly discovered evidence.