NC Criminal Law

Daniel Spiegel on Friday, August 28th, 2026

Overcrowding at North Carolina jails continues to be a problem, with Wake County jails holding more than 1,800 people in August despite a capacity of 1,574. As noted in prior news roundups, sheriffs point to the passage of Iryna’s Law as a cause of the increased population. Wake County Sheriff...

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If evidence is excluded by the trial court, the proponent of the evidence generally must provide an adequate offer of proof regarding the nature of the excluded evidence in order to argue on appeal that the evidence should have been allowed. See G.S. 8C-103(a)(2).

The state has a constitutional duty under the due process clause to disclose to the defendant any material evidence that is favorable to the defense for a trial or sentencing hearing. This duty applies in misdemeanor and felony cases.

A criminal charge contained in a pleading must be sufficiently definite to identify the offense, enable the defendant to prepare his or her defense, bar a subsequent prosecution for the same offense, and enable the court to impose judgment.

Prosecution of the defendant for an infraction will bar a subsequent prosecution for a more serious offense arising out of the same conduct.

Each separate offense charged against a defendant must be pled in a separate pleading, or in a separate count within a single pleading. See G.S. 15A-924(a)(2).