NC Criminal Law
This post summarizes published criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during February 2026. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit cases are available here.
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With the consent of all parties, the district court may accept guilty pleas to Class H and I felonies. G.S. 7A-272(c).
Language in an indictment or other criminal pleading that is unnecessary (“surplusage”) does not prohibit the state from proving theories or facts of the charged crime that are different from those alleged in the indictment.
Unlike “character,” which refers to a person’s general disposition or personality trait, a “habit” is a person’s regular response to a repeated, specific situation. Evidence of a person’s habit may be introduced to show that the person’s conduct was in conformity with that habit on a particular occasion. G.S. 8C-406.
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 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).