On Friday, the Supreme Court displayed how busy it has been this summer by releasing 17 authored opinions. Justice Per Curiam (who is fond of affirming/reversing “for the reasons
Continue Reading Taking Care of Business (Part I): Rule 3.1 No-Merit Briefs Warrant (At Least Some Form of) Appellate Review
At first blush, it might not seem surprising that the Court of Appeals would dismiss an appeal if “[n]o issues have been argued or preserved for review.” But what is
Continue Reading What Type of Review Is Triggered by a “No-Merit” Brief?
Tuesday’s batch of opinions from the Court of Appeals included several helpful reminders. None of these is especially earth-shattering, but the opinions do answer some questions that may be forgotten
Continue Reading Are These Rhetorical Questions?
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
Last week, we wrote about a bill that was introduced in the legislature that would shrink the Court of Appeals to 12 judges while tweaking the jurisdiction of the Supreme
Continue Reading More Jurisdictional Changes: Could Juvenile Cases Be Next?
In its final set of opinions from 2016, the North Carolina Court of Appeals provided some helpful reminders for appellate practitioners.
1. Unless some other exception applies, you may appeal
Continue Reading A Lesson in Helping Verbs: When You May, Might, or Must Appeal
A couple of years ago, the North Carolina Supreme Court found itself with a heftier docket, thanks to new laws like the Business Court Modernization Act that sent certain appeals
Continue Reading Bill Would Give Court of Appeals En Banc Jurisdiction and Make Appellate Races Partisan Again; Eliminate Direct Appeal To Supreme Court From Orders Declaring Law Facially Invalid
According to the preliminary numbers, Judges Rich Dietz, Bob Hunter, and Valerie Zachary will keep their seats on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court of North
Continue Reading Appellate Election Results
There are few concepts that are as important to our nation’s jurisprudence as that of jurisdiction. As stated by the Supreme Court of the United States, “Jurisdiction is the power
Continue Reading No Jurisdiction Means No Jurisdiction (Except When It Doesn’t)
Last year, my colleague Kip Nelson warned about the risks of failing to provide a fulsome “statement of the grounds for appellate review” in an appellant’s brief, as required by
Continue Reading Proving Appellate Jurisdiction: Do Not Put Off Until Tomorrow What You Can Do Today