Until recently, a single judge sitting on a panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals could tee up an issue for the Supreme Court of North Carolina simply by filing a dissenting opinion. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-30(2) allowed the losing party to notice appeal based solely on that dissent.
That all went away
Registration is now open for the North Carolina Bar Association’s 2025 Appellate Practice Section CLE – Elevate Your Appellate Practice. This is going to be a terrific event, with a wide array of all-star speakers. Learn how to become a better appellate advocate in every facet, from writing to oral argument, while avoiding tricky procedural
This year, the North Carolina Mock Trial Program, in conjunction with the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism (CJCP) and the May 20th Society, will offer the chance to learn about our State’s rich history and our court system through a statewide high school moot court competition. During the competition, students will debate the existence of
Isn’t “secure leave” wonderful? It’s the one time YOUR schedule overrides the COURT schedule. Just designate a week or two or three, at least 90 days in advance, and you are off the hook for in-court appearances.
Our appellate courts have made it increasingly easy to designate such vacation periods through the e-filing portal. And
Parties must move for a directed verdict to preserve their right to request judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV*) after an unfavorable verdict is returned. Friday’s batch of Supreme Court opinions includes a Masterclass by Justice Dietz on how that requirement can be a trap—particularly in a complex case involving multiple claims, issues, and theories.
Dissent-based appeals of right might stick around a little longer than we thought.
The 2023 budget bill struck N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-30(2), which had allowed for an appeal of right to the Supreme Court whenever “there is a dissent when the Court of Appeals is sitting in a panel of three judges.” The statutory
For many moons, North Carolina was one of the few jurisdictions in which the losing party at the Court of Appeals could pursue an appeal as of right to the Supreme Court if the party managed to snag a dissenting opinion from the intermediate appellate court. The 2023 budget bill eliminated that statutory right, leaving
The North Carolina Supreme Court is not stingy with extensions. If a lawyer needs more time to file a brief, the Court will generally allow it.
But with the Court largely caught up on its docket, you might not want to bank on that extension request being granted right now.
Take the April 22-23, 2025
A decade ago, talk of fonts was all the rage in North Carolina appellate circles. Jurists were increasingly reading briefs on screens, not on paper. And what works on paper might not work so well on an iPad. (Here’s looking at you, footnotes.)
The central antagonist at the time was the Courier family of fonts—non-proportionally
Ever had to explain to a client why a sweet win in the lower courts doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s time to dig in and eat?
In City of Martinsville, VA v. Express Scripts, a Fourth Circuit majority opinion used a palatable analogy to explain the appellate stay concept in layman’s terms. In that