NC Criminal Law
This post summarizes criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during June of 2026. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit are available here.
Where prison officials failed to preserve video footage of alleged...
When a statute sets forth disjunctive or alternative ways by which an offense may be committed, a warrant or indictment should charge them conjunctively, linking the alternatives by the word “and” instead of “or”.
With the consent of all parties, the district court may accept guilty pleas to Class H and I felonies. G.S. 7A-272(c).
An information is an accusation drafted by the prosecutor and filed in superior court, charging one or more criminal offenses. An information may be filed only if the defendant waives indictment.
A statement of charges, criminal summons, arrest warrant, citation or magistrate’s order may be amended at any time before or after final judgment as long as the amendment does not change the nature of the offense charged. G.S. 15A-922(f).
A defendant has a Sixth Amendment right to counsel during interrogation by an officer or an informant about a pending charge after adversarial judicial proceedings for that charge have begun.