Articles in the Procedure category

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this term in Kian v. Florida on whether the Sixth Amendment guarantees a criminal defendant the right to a twelve-member jury. In […]

In the criminal law context, magistrates primarily conduct initial appearances for individuals who have just been arrested, issue criminal process in the form of charging documents, and issue search warrants. […]

Magistrates regularly determine whether probable cause exists to issue search warrants, see G.S. 15A-245(b), arrest warrants, see G.S. 15A-304(d), and criminal summonses, see G.S. 15A-303(c). They also decide whether probable […]

This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on September 2, 2026. Where there is insufficient evidence in the record to determine whether […]

The North Carolina Supreme Court held in State v. Farook, No. 457PA20-2, ___ N.C. ___ (August 14, 2026) (summarized here), that the proper analysis for most claims of ineffective assistance […]

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  […]

A new Administration of Justice Bulletin on Rebuttable Presumptions Against Pretrial Release is now available. I previously blogged about these types of presumptions here, and this bulletin expands on the […]

We are excited to announce the publication of a new bulletin in our Administration of Justice series: “Initial Appearances before North Carolina Magistrates.” Special thanks to my colleagues Brittany Bromell […]

It’s the day of trial in superior court and final motions and notices are being exchanged before the jury pool comes in. Amidst the sharing of witness lists, motions to […]

The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment bars the State from introducing testimonial hearsay statements from a witness who does not testify at trial unless the witness is unavailable and […]