Part I of this two-part blog addressed what happens at arraignment, compared the way arraignment works in North Carolina to the way it works in other states, and set forth various ways that arraignment can have procedural significance. Part II
UNC | School of Government
The UNC School of Government is an academic institution that publishes detailed legal analyses and summaries primarily focused on North Carolina law and appellate court decisions. Its publications cover a range of criminal law topics including case law summaries from state and federal courts, legislative updates on state statutes such as firearm regulations and harm reduction laws, and discussions on legal defenses and evidentiary standards. The content is aimed at legal practitioners, providing practical insights into recent legal developments, statutory changes, and appellate rulings relevant to state government and criminal justice practice.
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Case Summaries: Supreme Court of North Carolina (Aug. 14, 2026), Part Two
By Jeff Welty
This post summarizes published criminal opinions from the Supreme Court of North Carolina released on August 14, 2026. The court released twelve such opinions on that day, some quite lengthy. Therefore, a previous post summarized the first six opinions, and…
Probable Cause Hearings and Delinquency Cases
Probable cause (PC) hearings play a unique role in delinquency cases. They are required only in the subset of cases that are potentially eligible for transfer to superior court, and their timing and impact depend on the offenses that are…
Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Aug. 19, 2026)
By Shea Denning
This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on August 19, 2026.
Trial court erred by dismissing the charges against the defendant pursuant to G.S. 15A-954(a)(4) as the defendant failed to show that…
New District Court District Created by State Budget Act
By Shea Denning
The 2026 Appropriations Act created a new district court district, effective January 1, 2027, by splitting current District 5, a four-county district consisting of Duplin, Jones, Onslow, and Sampson Counties, into Districts 5A and 5B.
Legislative authority to redraw districts.…
Case Summaries: Supreme Court of North Carolina (Aug. 14, 2026), Part One
By Jeff Welty
This post summarizes published criminal opinions from the Supreme Court of North Carolina released on August 14, 2026. The court released twelve such opinions on that day, some quite lengthy. Therefore, this post summarizes the first six opinions. The remaining…
Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (July 2026)
By Phil Dixon
This post summarizes criminal law and related cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during July of 2026. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit are available here.
Failure…
Book Review: The Yahoo Boys
By Jeff Welty
I was on vacation last week. I spent part of my time reading Carlos Barragan’s book The Yahoo Boys. Barragan is a Spanish journalist. His mother, a successful dentist, fell in love with a Nigerian scammer posing as an…
Rebooting Probation After an Appeal
Today’s post addresses a small (and admittedly mundane) thing that trips people up from time to time. What happens when an appealed probationary sentence comes back to the trial court that imposed it? The issue arises when an appeal is…
Ponderous and Substantial Things: Parsing the Evidence in State v. Phelps
A defendant’s simultaneous possession of multiple guns will generally support only one conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon. In State v. Phelps, No. COA25-934 (June 3, 2026), the State argued that multiple convictions were warranted because…