NC Criminal Law
This post summarizes criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during April of 2026. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit are available here.
Search of juvenile’s phone by school officials was reasonable; juvenile’s confession was voluntary
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If a case is transferred to another district for prosecution, the prosecutor of the originating district must continue to prosecute the case, unless the prosecutor of the receiving district consents to the prosecution. See G.S. 15A-133(d).
The state is not barred from recharging an offense if it was dismissed because the state’s motion to continue was denied.
There is no double jeopardy bar to a second trial when a charge is dismissed because an indictment or other criminal pleading is fatally defective.
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.
If the defendant (or any defendant in a multi-defendant case) puts on evidence, then state has the right to the first and last closing argument.