North Carolina has long recognized that under the “right for any reason” rule, a trial court’s ruling can be affirmed even on a ground that was rejected or ignored below. Thus, it’s common to remark that appellees can argue any alternative basis for affirmance on appeal. While these rules sound simple, exploring their contours raises
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Court of Appeals Clarifies When a Written Order May Differ from the Orally Rendered Decision
If you’ve been practicing in North Carolina long enough, you have undoubtedly encountered this fact pattern:
- A judge issues a ruling from the bench and asks the prevailing party to draft the order.
- The prevailing party adds a few flourishes to the proposed order that go beyond the orally rendered ruling. (Or, worse still, the
…
Right for Any (Raised) Reason?
Normally, an appellate court will “limit appellate review to issues raised by the parties because those legal issues are joined after full adversarial briefing.” The Supreme Court of North Carolina has cautioned that “[a]ddressing issues that the parties never raised, preserved, and asserted on appeal is harmful for several reasons.” One of those reasons is…
State Budget Ushers In Modest Appellate Changes
Governor Stein signed a state budget into law today, triggering happy headlines about teacher pay and investments in community colleges, amidst debates over a number of other provisions. Tweaks to our appellate system tend not to make the front page, but there is at least one thing worth noting.
Borrowing a page from the business…
Appellate Judges Education Institute 2026
Registration for the best national appellate CLE program is now open.
Here’s the link: https://judges.org/appellate judges edu/about-ajei. You need to be there.
The AJEI Summit will be held November 12-15, 2026, in Philadelphia.
Speakers and presenters include Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, Akhil Amar, Judge Diane Wood, Jeffrey Rosen, Judge Margaret McKeown, and Jonathan Turley. They will…
The Right Way to Writ
Petitions for a writ of certiorari, particularly in criminal cases, are no stranger to this blog. But this week’s opinions from the Court of Appeals include a case that is worth discussing.
State v. Dade concerned North Carolina’s implied-consent offenses such as impaired driving. If a defendant in such a case files a motion to…
Annual Appellate CLE: Tips from the Bench
North Carolina’s appellate lawyers enjoyed an hour chock-full of insights from Justice Dietz and Chief Judge Dillon this morning during the NCBA’s annual appellate-practice CLE. Did you miss it? Here are some highlights.
Motions to Dismiss Appeals
Both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals are open to motions to dismiss appeals for…
Alternatives to Horizontal Stare Decisis
Suppose the Supreme Court of North Carolina jettisoned In re Civil Penalty—the case requiring panels of the Court of Appeals to treat earlier Court of Appeals panel opinions as binding precedent. What system would take its place?
This is no mere hypothetical. As my colleague Morgan Reece pointed out last week, at least…
We need to talk about… In re Civil Penalty (again)
By Morgan Reece
On March 20, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in In re N.M.W., No. 159PA25, 2026 WL 796105 (N.C. Mar. 20, 2026). But as many of you know, I’m not here to discuss the holding or outcome of that case. I want to talk about Justice Berger’s concurrence.
Background first. Readers of this blog will…
Hitting the Ground Running: North Carolina Supreme Court Scheduling Oral Arguments Earlier Than You Might Expect
By Beth Scherer
North Carolina appellate practitioners may want to sit down before reading this. Actually, maybe stand up—because you might need to spring into action sooner than you think.
The North Carolina Supreme Court appears to be running a tighter schedule for briefing and calendaring cases for oral argument. In some cases, the Court has issued oral…