NC Criminal Law
This post summarizes published criminal law opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on April 1, 2026.
(1) Evidence was sufficient to support charges of attempted murder and discharging a firearm within an occupied enclosure with the intent to incite fear; (2) Trial court did not err by instructing jury on the felony disqualifier limiting a defendant’s right of self-defense; (3) Trial court did not err by declining to instruct the jury on the defense of...
If the elements of the offense were committed in more than one county, each county in which an element of the crime was committed has concurrent venue. See G.S. 15A-132(a).
In district court, jeopardy attaches once the court begins to hear evidence, which occurs when the first witness is sworn. In superior court, jeopardy attaches once the jury is sworn and impaneled.
The key question for double jeopardy analysis is whether each offense requires proof of an element that is not contained in the other — if not, they are the same offense and double jeopardy bars a successive prosecution.
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 trial judge may permit any party to introduce additional evidence at any time before verdict. See G.S. 15A-1226(b).