In its opinions issued on February 21, 2023, the NC Court of Appeals focused on how appellants must preserve their right to appeal issues if they want access to the appellate courts.
Continue Reading There’s No Appeal Without the Right to Appeal
Fox Rothschild's blog about practicing law in North Carolina state and federal appellate courts
In its opinions issued on February 21, 2023, the NC Court of Appeals focused on how appellants must preserve their right to appeal issues if they want access to the appellate courts. …
Continue Reading There’s No Appeal Without the Right to Appeal
The Court of Appeals’ latest batch of opinions includes several reminders about the importance of proving that appellate jurisdiction is proper in an appellant’s opening brief. Not in a conclusory…
Continue Reading Relying on a Motion to Dismiss Response to Address Appellate Jurisdiction Arguments? Maybe Don’t Count on It
Writer and futurist Alvin Toffler cautioned, “You’ve got to think about big things while you’re doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.” Today’s…
Continue Reading Avoiding Big Problems with Small Details: Protecting Sensitive Information and Including the “Littlest Big” Detail With Notices of Appeal
Friday afternoon, my email and text message notification systems were singing. Why? For the first time since December 2016 when the Court of Appeals received en banc review authority,…
Continue Reading And Then There Was One: North Carolina Court of Appeals Grants En Banc Review for the First Time Ever.
In the first three weeks of 2021, I have heard nothing but positive feedback about the Supreme Court’s transcript-related rules updates–previously blogged about here.
In more good news, the…
Continue Reading 2021 Codification of the Appellate Rules
Desperately searching for COVID-safe CLE hours? The North Carolina Court of Appeals is offering appellate continuing legal education courses until the end of February 2021. According to the Court’s press…
Continue Reading North Carolina Court of Appeals Offers Free Appellate CLE Courses
Precisely 364 days ago, Kip previewed the coming of universal citations. Twenty-eight days remain until universal citations assume a starring role in judicial opinions and briefs. And to help practitioners…
Continue Reading Universal Citations: Coming Soon to a Brief Near You

Those who have known me for any length of time know that for more than a decade I have really, really wanted the Supreme Court to give appellate practitioners clarification…
Continue Reading Like Sands Through the Hourglass: Supreme Court Revises Transcript-Related Rules
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…
Continue Reading Appellate Rulings Not Argued By Any Party; or Too Many Fingers in the Pie
As previously reported here, the Supreme Court of North Carolina at the end of March issued an order extending all appellate court deadlines falling between March 27 and April 30,…
Continue Reading FAQs To Supreme Court’s Covid-19 Deadline Extension Order