A recent opinion out of the North Carolina Court of Appeals is causing comment in the criminal bar. In In The Matter Of J.B.P, (No. COA23-269), a juvenile petition was filed against the juvenile, alleging possession of...more
On May 7, 2024 the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued thirty-three published opinions There’s a lot to chew on here. Here’s my summary of a few of the more interesting or unusual cases.
Warren v. Cielo...more
5/13/2024
/ Animal Cruelty ,
Appellate Courts ,
Appraisers ,
Assault ,
Consent ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
North Carolina ,
State Bar Associations ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Valuation
It is with sadness that I report on the recent death of retired Chief Judge John Martin. He had been fighting cancer for several years and went down swinging. His funeral, held in Raleigh on April 25, 2024, was packed....more
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has a new chief judge. Effective January 1, 2024, Chief Justice Newby has appointed Senior Associate Judge Chris Dillon as the new chief of the North Carolina Court of Appeals....more
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
Over the last few years, Confederate monuments in many North Carolina towns and cities have been objects of controversy. As one who parked for eighteen years in the shadow of the towering and now-departed Confederate...more
With little notice or fanfare, the latest North Carolina Senate budget bill stands poised to make a significant change in North Carolina appellate practice. Currently there are several routes to the Supreme Court of North...more
North Carolina recently lost another of its retired appellate judges. K. Edward Greene served on the Court of Appeals for sixteen years following eight years as a district court judge. After his retirement from the bench,...more
It’s not unusual to see changes on the bench with the arrival of a new year. Come January 1, 2023, Justice Dietz and Justice Allen will join the Supreme Court of North Carolina. All readers of this blog will wish each a...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
Sad news for North Carolina appellate aficionados. Dan Horne, the Clerk of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, is retiring as of June 30, 2021.
As he rides into the sunset, Dan takes with him an impressive amount of...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
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