NC Criminal Law
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on September 16, 2026.
Trial court did not err by finding a violation of conditions of probation based on Defendant’s admission to failure to pay; insufficient evidence supported the findings that Defendant committed new criminal offenses and failed to report as directed; trial court did not err by imposing a five-month...
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.
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.
A statement of charges may charge the same offenses as the original pleading or additional or different misdemeanor offenses. G.S. 15A-922(d).
The state must give the defendant, at the beginning of jury selection, a written list of the names of all witnesses whom the state reasonably expects to call during the trial.
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.