Writing as a blogger is something entirely new for me. As an alumnus of both of North Carolina’s state appellate courts, I will always be mindful that I possess knowledge
Continue Reading What Steps Must An Appellee Take To Preserve A Cross-Issue Under Appellate Rule 10(c)?
One sentence of Rule 3(c) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure provides: “If timely notice of appeal is filed and served by a party, any other party may
Continue Reading Which Orders Can Be Included In A Cross-Appeal?
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.
In the published opinion of State v. Hensley, a concurring opinion was devoted to a somewhat surprising issue: a disagreement regarding the majority opinion’s citation to a single unpublished
Continue Reading Should Appellate Courts Avoid Citations To Unpublished Opinions? Depends On Who You Ask
As a champion of the appellate courts’ broad certiorari powers, I am eager for the Supreme Court of North Carolina to review the legal questions raised by cases such as
Continue Reading The Court of Appeals Is Bound by Prior Panel Opinions—But Maybe Not!
Whether at my desk or during courthouse visits, my Rules of Court book is usually close by. As previously blogged about here, here, here, and here,
Continue Reading Westlaw’s Mid-Year Update Does Not Incorporate Recent Appellate Rules Amendments
Last Friday was a blockbuster appellate day for the Supreme Court of North Carolina. Not only did it effectively declare an appellate jurisdiction statute unconstitutional (see Matt’s blog post
Continue Reading Supreme Court Reverses Court of Appeals Application of Appellate Rule 2
The Supreme Court stated in Dogwood v. White Oak, 362 N.C. 191, 657 S.E.2d 361 (2008), that noncompliance with nonjurisdictional rules normally should not lead to the dismissal of an
Continue Reading When Do Appellate Rules Violations Rise To The Level Of Jurisdictional Requirements?
Since December 2016, we have been monitoring the status of the North Carolina Court of Appeals’ new en banc authority. Several motions for en banc review have been filed,
Continue Reading Fourth Circuit May Conduct Initial En Banc Review of Revised Federal Travel Ban