NC Criminal Law

Daniel Spiegel on Friday, August 28th, 2026

Overcrowding at North Carolina jails continues to be a problem, with Wake County jails holding more than 1,800 people in August despite a capacity of 1,574. As noted in prior news roundups, sheriffs point to the passage of Iryna’s Law as a cause of the increased population. Wake County Sheriff...

#NCPROTIP
Displaying 11 - 15 of 60

Venue to try an accessory after the fact is proper in any county where the principal could be prosecuted or in the county where the defendant committed acts that form the basis of the charge of accessory after the fact.

If a defendant pleads guilty to an H or I felony in district court, is placed on probation, and is subsequently charged with violating that probation, the superior court has jurisdiction to hear the violation. But with the consent of the state and the defendant, the district court may hear the violation. G.S. 7A-271(e).

The court may take judicial notice of adjudicative facts that are not subject to any reasonable dispute if the facts are common knowledge in the jurisdiction or can be easily determined by reference to reliable sources.

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. 

The rules of evidence do not apply at sentencing. G.S. 8C-1101(b)(3).