NC Criminal Law
This post summarizes criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during June of 2026. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit are available here.
Where prison officials failed to preserve video footage of alleged...
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.
A prosecution in superior court must be by indictment, although a noncapital defendant may waive the right to an indictment and be tried on an information. See G.S. 15A-642; -943.
If a search warrant validly describes the premises to be searched, a car located on the premises may be searched even though the warrant contains no description of the car. State v. Courtright, 60 N.C. App. 247, 249 (1983).
If the defendant does not introduce evidence, the defendant has the right to the first and last closing argument.
Each separate offense charged against a defendant must be pled in a separate pleading, or in a separate count within a single pleading. See G.S. 15A-924(a)(2).