Twice this week the Fourth Circuit took the relatively unusual step of issuing published opinions on orders denying rehearing of a case. Ordinarily such orders are not published for the
Continue Reading The Curious Case(s) of the Published Denial of Rehearing
Our State Supreme Court issues a lot of unanimous opinions. But this month’s batch of opinions contained two interesting examples of an area in which the justices may disagree: statutory
Continue Reading Disagreement in the Supreme Court of North Carolina: How to Interpret a Statute
Memo to trial lawyers in North Carolina: Do not tell the jury that a witness is a liar. And you also shouldn’t imply that opposing counsel and an opposing expert
Continue Reading What Can You Argue to a Jury About a Witness’ Credibility? North Carolina Supreme Court Provides Some Guidance
What is the Court of Appeals to do when the correctness of the trial court order being appealed turns on whether or not a certain document was presented to the
Continue Reading Who Gets the Benefit of the Doubt—the Record on Appeal or the Trial Court?
On June 9, 2017, the Supreme Court of North Carolina issued a unanimous opinion holding that when an employer admits the compensability of an injury under the Worker’s Compensation Act,
Continue Reading That Didn’t Last Long: General Assembly Nullifies Supreme Court Opinion With Record Speed, While The Supreme Court Grapples With Error Preservation Problems.
Yesterday, the Court of Appeals published an opinion serving as a reminder that attorneys must always be mindful of preserving their trial court arguments for appeal. In State v. Walker
Continue Reading Court of Appeals Reiterates Importance of Preserving Arguments on Appeal
A case with a history of appellate rules issues, see here, can now add a few more to its tally. In State v. Coxton the Court of Appeals originally
Continue Reading Appellate Rule 28 and Abandonment of an Argument
In recent weeks we’ve had a number of posts that demonstrate the inherent authority and broad power of our appellate courts. See here and here. Another example of that
Continue Reading Rules are Made (Allowed) to be Broken (Suspended)
I can’t pass up the opportunity to blog about an appellate case titled Don’t Do It, [Sic] Empire, LLC v. Tenntex, COA 15-938 (Mar. 1, 2016) ([sic] in original)—especially
Continue Reading Rule 9(b)(5) Supplements and Issues Raised for the First Time On Appeal: Don’t Do It!
Yesterday’s batch of opinions contained an unusual nugget: an entire opinion devoted to arguably the most powerful of all appellate tools, the writ of certiorari. In State v. Biddix,
Continue Reading The Writ of Certiorari—A Somewhat Less Powerful Tool?