NC Criminal Law
This post summarizes criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during May of 2026. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit are available here.
District court correctly found that the Sixth Amendment right to a jury...
The use of the conjunctive “and” in an indictment charging two theories by which offense may be committed does not require the state to prove both theories.
The superior court has jurisdiction to accept a guilty plea to a misdemeanor tendered in lieu of a felony charge.
Two or more offenses may be joined for trial when the offenses are based on the same act or transaction or on a series of acts or transactions connected together or constituting parts of a single scheme or plan. See G.S. 15A-926(a).
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).
Venue is proper in the entire district of the alleged offense, not just the particular county where the offense allegedly occurred. See G.S. 15A-131(b). Probable cause hearings are an exception and must be held in the county where the offense occurred. See G.S. 15a-131(c).