Before filing a complaint, make sure you have the correct name of your plaintiff. Otherwise, when you amend the complaint to add the correct plaintiff, you may lose the benefit of the relation back doctrine.
Continue Reading Court of Appeals Emphasizes Importance of Identifying the Proper Plaintiff
When prospective Appellants face a deadline for filing a Notice of Appeal, it is imperative that they know how many days, and which days, to count.
Continue Reading Whoever Said “Don’t Count the Days, Make the Days Count,” Must Not Have Needed to File a Notice of Appeal
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
Under Appellate Rule 10, the general rule is that appellate courts only decide issues properly raised, argued, and decided in the trial tribunal. But exceptions to this general rule exist
Continue Reading Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Another Error Preservation Statute
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many changes in the legal profession over the last 10 months. Those receiving the most focus have been, for obvious reasons, things like remote proceedings
Continue Reading How Important Is Oral Argument In The Fourth Circuit?
In Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prevents prosecutors in criminal cases from exercising
Continue Reading The ups and downs (and up again?) of a Batson challenge
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
NOTICE: Take the following post with a grain of salt. The Court of Appeals issued an updated opinion in the Ellis case on 20 August 2019. Although the opinion is
Continue Reading Right for the Wrong Reasons, Redux
A while back, Justice Edmunds