Preservation Reservations in State v. Bell
The defendant in State v. Bell, No. 86A02-2 (N.C. March 21, 2025), failed to object to gender-based discrimination during jury selection. Accordingly, the North Carolina Supreme Court concluded that the […]
October 8, 2013
Remember Those Timelines for Non-Capital Motions for Appropriate Relief?
They are gone. In a blog post here I wrote about 2012 North Carolina legislation imposing tight new timelines for judges handling post-conviction motions for appropriate relief. When I had […]
August 19, 2013
NC Court Takes a Restrictive View of “Significant Change in the Law” MARs
In a bulletin here I wrote about NC’s procedure for post-conviction motions for appropriate relief (MARs). Among other things, that bulletin explains the types of claims that can be raised […]
March 27, 2013
Claims That Survive an Unconditional Guilty Plea
A lot of defendants plead guilty. And many of those defendants later try to challenge their pleas through the post-conviction process. Not surprisingly then, I get a lot of questions […]
October 29, 2012
Tight New Timelines for Motions for Appropriate Relief
In 2012, the N.C. General Assembly enacted new case processing rules for motions for appropriate relief. See S.L. 2012-168. The new rules put the judges on a pretty tight leash […]
April 16, 2012
A Defense Win on a Newly Discovered Evidence Claim
I’m guessing that the criminal defense bar thinks that they have more strikes than hits in post-conviction proceedings. But a recent Court of Appeals case reminds us that it is […]
April 4, 2012
Can the State Obtain Appellate Review of a Judge’s Order Granting a Defendant’s MAR?
I’ve been asked a couple of times recently whether the state can obtain appellate review of a judge’s order granting a defendant’s motion for appropriate relief, or MAR. The questions […]
August 24, 2010
Motions for Appropriate Relief and Procedural Default
As noted in an earlier post, I get asked a lot of questions about motions for appropriate relief (MARs). One procedural issue that causes some confusion is procedural default. The […]
August 11, 2010
Statute of Limitations on Defense Motions for Appropriate Relief
I get asked a lot of questions about motions for appropriate relief (MARs). One common scenario is: Defendant was convicted of Crime X years ago and the sentence has been […]
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