STATE v. RUCKER

PER CURIAM.

Appellant Spencer Rucker appeals the district court's denial of a motion to extend the time to file motions to dismiss and for a directed verdict. We affirmed his 1997 conviction and sentence on direct appeal. See State v. Rucker, 2004 UT App 38 (mem).

The entry of a final judgment in the criminal case, followed by affirmance of the conviction and sentence on direct appeal, deprived the district court of jurisdiction to consider the motion to extend the time to file motions in the underlying case. The district court correctly concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to grant an extension of time to file motions to dismiss or for a directed verdict in the criminal case. Rucker's only means to challenge the conviction on the alleged grounds of ineffectiveness of trial or appellate counsel is in an appropriate petition seeking post-conviction relief. See Utah Code Ann. § 78-35a-102(1) (2002) ("This chapter establishes a substantive legal remedy for any person who challenges a conviction or sentence for a criminal offense and who has exhausted all other legal remedies, including a direct appeal. . . .").

We affirm the order of the district court.

Judith M. Billings, Judge, Carolyn B. McHugh, Judge Gregory K. Orme, Judge, concur.