NC Criminal Law
This post summarizes criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during August of 2026. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit are available here.
Where video footage contradicted material allegations of the...
Prosecution of the defendant for an infraction will bar a subsequent prosecution for a more serious offense arising out of the same conduct.
With the consent of all parties, the district court may accept guilty pleas to Class H and I felonies. G.S. 7A-272(c).
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 misdemeanor statement of charges is a criminal pleading prepared by the prosecutor, charging a misdemeanor. A statement of charges is a type of pleading, but is not a form of process, and cannot be used to initiate a prosecution and compel the defendant to appear. See G.S. 15A-922(b)(1).
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.