A dissenting opinion in the Court of Appeals has long been a litigant’s Golden Ticket, at least until a recent statutory change. The mere existence of the dissent bestowed an automatic right of appeal to the Supreme Court of...more
Petitions for the writ of certiorari are a fairly routine part of North Carolina appellate practice and procedure, but the Appellate Rules do not provide much guidance on what those petitions should contain. Under Rule...more
For both civil and criminal appeals, the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure require an appealing party who is filing a written notice of appeal to identify “the judgment or order from which appeal is taken.”...more
When you hear about an appellate decision, what comes to mind? Typically, I think of a formal “opinion”—at least when the appeal has been briefed on the merits. And historically, I have thought of an “order” as a short...more
Back in November, I wrote about the possibility of a fee award being immediately appealable if the amount in question is significant enough. In the latest batch of opinions from the Court of Appeals, that issue reared its...more
There was a time when I thought of a writ of prohibition as a mythical creature that only exists in fairy tales. As it turns out, the writ does exist. And in a decision on the writ that was entered this week, the Court of...more
As you no doubt have noticed, virtually every batch of opinions from our State appellate courts includes at least one “Rule 3.1” case involving allegations of abuse, neglect, or dependency. What you may forget is that each...more
If there is no binding precedent on point, where does the Supreme Court of North Carolina look for guidance? Which are more persuasive: federal court opinions or North Carolina Court of Appeals opinions? Does the answer to...more
As mentioned previously, several new judges are joining the Court of Appeals this month. Similar to the Supreme Court’s ceremony, the investiture ceremony for these new judges will be held virtually at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday,...more
A writ of certiorari is a discretionary, extraordinary writ—and is therefore never granted as a matter of right. See, e.g., King v. Taylor, 188 N.C. 450, 451, 124 S.E. 751, 751 (1924) (explaining that the writ “is allowed...more
It doesn’t take long for those who read judicial opinions to come across an unsigned, “per curiam” decision. Many decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, federal circuit courts, and our state Supreme Court are short-ish...more
Back in June, the Supreme Court of North Carolina sought feedback on a potential change to the citation format for North Carolina appellate court opinions. This week, the Court has officially made plans for the universal...more
The Supreme Court of North Carolina is exploring a proposal to adopt a universal citation format for North Carolina appellate court opinions. The format would implement sequential numbers for all opinions and a...more
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of North Carolina published its internal “Guidebook” for citation, style, and usage.
You may recall that a few years back, a lawyer obtained a copy of and began selling the U.S....more
Trial lawyers have a hard job, and it’s easy for appellate lawyers reviewing a cold record to find fault in the decisions made by their predecessors. As others have recognized, a symbiotic relationship can occur when a trial...more