In late March The Office of Indigent Defense Services (IDS) instituted a new process for the appointment and payment of counsel for cases in which a juvenile between the ages of 13 and 17 is charged with first-degree murder or murder where the degree is undesignated. The process, called the Juvenile First-Degree Murder Roster (JFDM Roster) is operated by the Office of the Juvenile Defender (OJD). For the 27 counties currently participating in the program, there is a new process for...
NC Criminal Law
on Tuesday, April 28th, 2026
#NCPROTIP
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A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty, or, with the consent of the prosecutor and judge, may plead “no contest.” See G.S. 15A-1011(a), (b).
If the defendant (or any defendant in a multi-defendant case) puts on evidence, then state has the right to the first and last closing argument.
Improper venue is waivable, while improper jurisdiction ordinarily is not.
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 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.
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