During any initial appearance, magistrates must consider a host of issues. Starting with determining whether to begin the initial appearance, finding probable cause, determining whether they may set pretrial release conditions, setting conditions when permitted, and conducting a citizenship inquiry when required, magistrates must work through multiple steps before setting a person’s next court date and concluding the initial appearance. When a magistrate conducts an initial appearance for a...
NC Criminal Law
on Wednesday, May 6th, 2026
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A court should allow a defendant who moves to withdraw a guilty plea before sentencing to withdraw the plea for any “fair and just” reason.
Even if he does not testify, the defendant may offer evidence of a “pertinent trait” of his character. G.S. 8C-404(a)(1).
A judge may accept an Alford plea, in which a defendant pleads guilty but does not admit committing the offense and protests his or her innocence, if the record strongly supports the defendant’s guilt and the defendant intelligently concludes that it is in his or her interest to enter such a plea. The consent of the prosecutor is not required.
If the defendant does not introduce evidence, the defendant has the right to the first and last closing argument.
An acquittal under the Double Jeopardy Clause includes a dismissal of a charge for insufficient evidence or an appellate court’s reversal of a conviction for insufficient evidence.
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