Governor Stein signed a state budget into law today, triggering happy headlines about teacher pay and investments in community colleges, amidst debates over a number of other provisions. Tweaks to
Continue Reading State Budget Ushers In Modest Appellate Changes
Registration for the best national appellate CLE program is now open.
Here’s the link: https://judges.org/appellate judges edu/about-ajei. You need to be there.
The AJEI Summit will be held November
Continue Reading Appellate Judges Education Institute 2026
Petitions for a writ of certiorari, particularly in criminal cases, are no stranger to this blog. But this week’s opinions from the Court of Appeals include a case that is
Continue Reading The Right Way to Writ
North Carolina’s appellate lawyers enjoyed an hour chock-full of insights from Justice Dietz and Chief Judge Dillon this morning during the NCBA’s annual appellate-practice CLE. Did you miss it?
Continue Reading Annual Appellate CLE: Tips from the Bench
Suppose the Supreme Court of North Carolina jettisoned In re Civil Penalty—the case requiring panels of the Court of Appeals to treat earlier Court of Appeals panel opinions as
Continue Reading Alternatives to Horizontal Stare DecisisOn March 20, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in In re N.M.W., No. 159PA25, 2026 WL 796105 (N.C. Mar. 20, 2026). But as many of you know, I’m
Continue Reading We need to talk about… In re Civil Penalty (again)
North Carolina appellate practitioners may want to sit down before reading this. Actually, maybe stand up—because you might need to spring into action sooner than you think.
The North Carolina
Continue Reading Hitting the Ground Running: North Carolina Supreme Court Scheduling Oral Arguments Earlier Than You Might Expect
Sometimes you fall headlong into a chorus you thought you knew by heart—only to discover the bridge is where all the action is. For appellate practitioners, that action seems to
Continue Reading Complicated: Premature Oral Notices of Appeal & Writs of Certiorari
As I forecasted two weeks ago, the State v. Hardaway case could present a clean opportunity for the North Carolina Court of Appeals to hold its first-ever en banc (re)hearing.
Continue Reading We Are One Step Closer to an En Banc Rehearing in the North Carolina Court of Appeals
Yesterday, I posted on the State v. Hardaway case and the use of a “concurrence dubitante” by Judge Hampson to flag his concerns with the binding holding of the earlier-decided
Continue Reading Could We Finally Have an En Banc Argument in the NC Court of Appeals?