I’ve spent a fair amount of time over the last few months working on the examination recently administered to those seeking to become North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialists in Appellate Practice. During my...more
In State v. Richardson, 272A14, filed 1 September 2023, the Supreme Court of North Carolina reviewed the conviction and sentencing of the defendant. The evidence indicated the gruesome and protracted abuse of a child that...more
9/8/2023
/ Appeals ,
Bias ,
Child Abuse ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
Evidence ,
First Degree Murder ,
Jury Trial ,
Mitigating Factors ,
NC Supreme Court ,
North Carolina ,
Recusal
Much ink has been spilled exploring the porous jurisdictional border between the trial division and the appellate division. A recent opinion from the Court of Appeals addresses this issue again.
State v. Johnson, No....more
For years, tension has existed between federal and state criminal prosecutors over forfeitures. Criminal forfeitures result from the seizure (and, if necessary, the sale) of contraband such as cash from illegal activities or...more
On May 3, 2022, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a large batch of opinions. By my count, twenty-two were published and thirty were unpublished. While history may prove me wrong, none of the published opinions...more
5/12/2022
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Counterclaims ,
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel ,
Investigations ,
Life Estates ,
Manslaughter ,
Motion for Reconsideration ,
NC Supreme Court ,
North Carolina ,
Pro Se Litigants ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Statement of Grounds ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Will Caveats ,
Wills
An intriguing by-play between judges on the North Carolina Court of Appeals recently emerged into public view in the case of State v. Calvin Lee Miller.
After shooting his wife, Miller was convicted of attempted...more
The recent opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in M.E. v. T.J., No. COA18-1045 has more twists than a Chubby Checker look-alike contest. The opinion is long and the facts and procedure are somewhat convoluted, but...more
In Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prevents prosecutors in criminal cases from exercising peremptory challenges to excuse...more
7/31/2020
/ Appeals ,
Batson claim ,
Burden-Shifting ,
Certiorari ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Jury Selection ,
NC Supreme Court ,
SCOTUS
Last year, I blogged about State v. Ellis where a passing motorist gave a Highway Patrol trooper the middle-finger salute and was arrested for his trouble. A divided Court of Appeals allowed the defendant’s conviction to...more
In State v. Golder, 79PA18, filed 3 April 2020, the Supreme Court of North Carolina provided helpful guidance on a vexing issue relating to error preservation: Does a general motion to dismiss preserve for appellate review...more
Although the case involving North Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper Thomas Wetherington appears to invite smiles because it focuses on his uniform hat (see “Side Bar” below), in fact it addresses a formidably tough ethical...more
State v. Campbell is a case that is proving as hard to finish off as Freddy Kreuger or Wile E. Coyote. Campbell has earned its third blog entry following yet another opinion by the Supreme Court of North Carolina. And, like...more
In a recent opinion, State v. Rieger, No. COA18-960 (filed 1 October 2019), the Court of Appeals wrestled with what appears to be an issue of first impression: how to calculate court costs following a criminal...more
Not too long ago, I blogged about the Court of Appeals’ analysis and results in In re CMB. In that child custody case, the North Carolina trial court cited an inapplicable statute to assume temporary emergency jurisdiction...more
Most readers of this blog are familiar with the Appellate Judges Education Institute, an annual seminar devoted to appellate practice. Don’t be distracted by the name. AJEI has programs for appellate practitioners and staff...more
We all remember the old common law rule that every dog gets one free bite, with the bite putting the owner on notice of the dog’s anti-social tendencies. In today’s more crowded world, where both dogs and pedestrians have...more
An appellate court will usually affirm or find no error in a trial court action if the result is deemed correct, even if the trial court’s rationale isn’t. Both State and Federal courts seem to call on this doctrine with...more
I suspect that every reader of this blog nurses a fear of making a jurisdictional error that kills the client’s appeal. For North Carolina practitioners, three recent Court of Appeals cases give guidance to help alleviate...more
Last October, I blogged about the interaction between State v. Alonzo, __ N.C. App. __, 819 S.E.2d 584 (2018), and In re Civil Penalty, 324 N.C. 373, 379 S.E. 2d 30 (1989). To recap, In re Civil Penalty holds that the first...more
The Supreme Court of North Carolina just issued a fascinating but divided opinion with facts straight out of a 1940’s noir thriller. How far can a would-be wife killer go before he gets into serious trouble?
The case is...more