When you hear about an appellate decision, what comes to mind? Typically, I think of a formal “opinion”—at least when the appeal has been briefed on the merits. And historically
Continue Reading Opinions and Orders and Options: A New Normal?
Biden Nominates South Carolina Judge to Fourth Circuit
President Biden yesterday announced the nomination of current South Carolina state court Judge DeAndrea Benjamin to fill the Fourth Circuit vacancy created when Judge Floyd took senior status in recent
Continue Reading Biden Nominates South Carolina Judge to Fourth CircuitDUELING STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS
A statute of limitations can end a case before it begins. But which limitations period applies? In its recent opinion in Woody v. Accuquest Hearing Center, LLC, COA21-563 (2022)
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Welcome back, Chief Justice Martin!
After three years of service as the Dean of Regent University Law School in Virginia, former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin is coming home. High Point University
Continue Reading Welcome back, Chief Justice Martin!ANOTHER SMORGASBORD OF OPINIONS FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS
On May 3, 2022, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a large batch of opinions. By my count, twenty-two were published and thirty were unpublished. While history may prove
Continue Reading ANOTHER SMORGASBORD OF OPINIONS FROM THE COURT OF APPEALSBATSON IS BACK, WITH TEETH
The holding in Batson v. Kentucky, 479 U.S. 79 (1986), that racial discrimination has no place in jury selection, continues to generate caselaw. As noted in a prior blog
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Oral Argument in Congressional Map Appeal; Updated Appellate Rules Codification; WebEx for Dummies (just kidding)
This blog post is a mishmash of news and updates.
—Remote Oral Argument in Harper v. Hall (N.C. Congressional Maps Case). After a Supreme Court remand, the trial
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Grant Buckner: North Carolina Supreme Court’s Next Clerk of Court
I am pleased to report that the Supreme Court of North Carolina has selected Grant Buckner as its 17th Clerk of Court.
Grant is no stranger to the appellate
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Fourth Circuit Happenings – Back to Richmond and a New Member of the Court
Two significant announcements came out of the Fourth Circuit this week. The first was that the Court announced that in-person oral arguments will resume for the Court’s December argument calendar
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North Carolina Supreme Court Issues Surprising Disqualification Order in Appeal of “Usurper” Lawsuit
In case you missed it, the Supreme Court of North Carolina issued a surprising disqualification order last week, setting up what could be a contentious internal fight within the Supreme
Continue Reading North Carolina Supreme Court Issues Surprising Disqualification Order in Appeal of “Usurper” Lawsuit