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...

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Whichever county is the first to bring charges against the defendant has exclusive venue. See G.S. 15A-132. But if the county with exclusive venue dismisses the charges, another county with concurrent venue may initiate its own charges and obtain venue.

When a conviction or sentence imposed in superior court has been set aside on direct review or collateral attack, a judge may not impose a new sentence for the same offense, or for a different offense based on the same conduct, that is more severe. G.S. 15A-1335.

G.S. 15A-134 provides that if a charged offense occurred partly in North Carolina and partly in another state, a person charged with that offense may be tried in North Carolina only if he or she has not already been placed in jeopardy for the same offense by the other state.

An acquittal under the Double Jeopardy Clause includes a dismissal of a charge for insufficient evidence or an appellate court’s reversal of a conviction for insufficient evidence.

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).