The Supreme Court of North Carolina gets a lot of questions and filings from unrepresented litigants. Often, those folks are in the wrong court (they should be in the Court
Continue Reading Supreme Court Offers Appellate Advice for Unrepresented LitigantsTroy Shelton

Enforcing Equitable Distribution Orders During an Appeal
Equitable distribution orders often direct the payment of money from one former spouse to the other. And normally money judgments are entirely enforceable during an appeal, unless the appellant gets…
Continue Reading Enforcing Equitable Distribution Orders During an Appeal
An extended conversation with Justice Dietz
As some of our readers may know, I write a monthly column for North Carolina Lawyers Weekly. The topics are what I’d call appellate-adjacent. But this month’s column is right…
Continue Reading An extended conversation with Justice DietzAppellate Grab bag: En banc, appellate sanctions, and certiorari
This week’s batch of opinions from the Court of Appeals had several appellate issues worth a mention.
First, the en banc saga comes to a close. As you’ll recall, the…
Continue Reading Appellate Grab bag: En banc, appellate sanctions, and certiorari
North Carolina Supreme Court Issues Surprising Disqualification Order in Appeal of “Usurper” Lawsuit
In case you missed it, the Supreme Court of North Carolina issued a surprising disqualification order last week, setting up what could be a contentious internal fight within the Supreme…
Continue Reading North Carolina Supreme Court Issues Surprising Disqualification Order in Appeal of “Usurper” Lawsuit
The Court of Appeals Returns to In-Person Arguments
The return to normalcy continues. Back in March 2021, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued guidelines for when in-person oral arguments could be scheduled. Then, earlier this month…
Continue Reading The Court of Appeals Returns to In-Person Arguments
Can partial summary judgment affect a substantial right?
Usually, appellate counsel can confidently say that a grant of partial summary judgment, standing alone, will not allow for an interlocutory appeal. A complete grant of summary judgment is a…
Continue Reading Can partial summary judgment affect a substantial right?
Petition Tracker Updated
The petition tracker has been updated based on the two sets of petition releases that we’ve had so far in 2020. When and how these cases will be decided, in…
Continue Reading Petition Tracker Updated
Supreme Court Extends Appellate Deadlines and Encourages E-Filing
Today, the Supreme Court of North Carolina gave some grace on appellate filings impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The order issued by the Court does three things:
- Extends for 60
…
Continue Reading Supreme Court Extends Appellate Deadlines and Encourages E-Filing
North Carolina’s Appellate Courts Proceed During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Last Friday, Chief Justice Beasley of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, held a press conference on the State judiciary’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the announcements during…
Continue Reading North Carolina’s Appellate Courts Proceed During the Coronavirus Pandemic