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NC Criminal Law

News Roundup
Joseph L. Hyde on Friday, August 14th, 2026

Kim Kardashian’s Calabasas mansion was broken into on Sunday, and police have arrested a suspect, per this story from NBC and USA Today. Officers with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department...

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A court may permit a defendant who moves to withdraw a guilty plea after sentencing to withdraw the plea only when it is necessary to avoid manifest injustice.

The superior court has jurisdiction to accept a guilty plea to a misdemeanor tendered in lieu of a felony charge.

Evidence of the victim’s character may be introduced in two circumstances: First, the defendant may introduce evidence of a “pertinent trait” of the victim’s character. G.S. 8C-404(a)(2). The most common example is evidence of the victim’s violent character, offered when the defendant is claiming self-defense. Second, in homicide cases, the state may offer evidence of the victim’s character trait for “peacefulness” to rebut a claim by the defense that the victim was the first aggressor.

Misdemeanors may be charged in an indictment only if the charge is initiated by presentment or if the offense is joined with a charged felony. See G.S. 15A-923; G.S. 7A-271.

The state has a constitutional duty under the due process clause to disclose to the defendant any material evidence that is favorable to the defense for a trial or sentencing hearing. This duty applies in misdemeanor and felony cases.

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