NC Criminal Law

Daniel Spiegel on Friday, December 19th, 2025

Additional information came to light last week in the case against Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, during a key pretrial hearing on a motion to suppress. At issue was whether the search of Mangione’s backpack in an Altoona, PA, McDonald’s five days...

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If the defendant appeals from a conviction arising out of a plea agreement in district court, the superior court has jurisdiction over misdemeanors that were dismissed, reduced, or modified pursuant to the agreement. See G.S. 15A-1431(b); 7A-271(b).

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.

All criminal pleadings must name or otherwise identify the defendant. See G.S. 15A-924(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. 

A defendant who is in custody has a Fifth Amendment right to counsel during an interrogation.