NC Criminal Law

Shea Denning on Friday, April 10th, 2026

The television series Friends was a staple of my young adult life. So in 2022 when Matthew Perry published his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, I was eager to hear his story. In that work, Perry laid bare his decades-long struggle with addiction, though he ended the book on a hopeful note, reporting his then-current sobriety and his desire to someday marry and have children. A year later, Perry was found dead in a hot tub in his home. The...

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Even if he does not testify, the defendant may offer evidence of a “pertinent trait” of his character. G.S. 8C-404(a)(1).

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.

If the defendant appeals from a conviction arising out of a plea agreement in district court, the superior court has jurisdiction over misdemeanors that were dismissed, reduced, or modified pursuant to the agreement. See G.S. 15A-1431(b); 7A-271(b).

A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty, or, with the consent of the prosecutor and judge, may plead “no contest.” See G.S. 15A-1011(a), (b).

G.S. 15A-134 provides that if a charged offense occurred partly in North Carolina and partly in another state, a person charged with that offense may be tried in North Carolina only if he or she has not already been placed in jeopardy for the same offense by the other state.