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?
Last Friday, the Supreme Court of North Carolina issued a number of opinions. One of the most notable was State v. Stubbs. In that case the Court addressed whether
Continue Reading Supreme Court of North Carolina Amends Appellate Rule 21
While reading through the latest batch of opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals, I was struck (again) by how often appellate cases are not decided on the merits
Continue Reading Appellate Procedure and Preservation of Errors: They Matter!
Is it fair for the government to require a criminal defendant to waive his right to appeal as part of accepting a plea agreement? Such “appellate waivers” have become quite
Continue Reading Federal Prosecutors Will Forego Inserting “Appellate Waivers” into Plea Deals
Readers of our blog may be interested in a few nuggets concerning interlocutory appeals that appeared in the slate of opinions that the North Carolina Court of Appeals published on
Continue Reading Interlocutory Appeals: Unique Considerations in Criminal Cases Involving the Suppression of Evidence and in Cases Involving Sovereign Immunity