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...
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.
A judge must accept a plea arrangement that involves only charges and no sentence recommendation, as long as the judge determines the plea is the product of an informed choice of the defendant and there is a factual basis for the plea. See G.S. 15A-1023(c).
The rules of evidence do not apply at sentencing. G.S. 8C-1101(b)(3).
The state must give notice to the defendant of any expert witnesses that the state reasonably expects to call as a witness at trial.
A defendant who is in custody has a Fifth Amendment right to counsel during an interrogation.