Constitutional – Case Law Wire

North Carolina Constitutional Criminal Evidence

Court of Appeals of North Carolina

Howze — Secondary DNA comparison did not require a new warrant after lawful seizure

/ August 7, 2026

The Court of Appeals upheld denial of suppression. Evidence in plain view could be seized where officers were lawfully present and its evidentiary significance was immediately apparent in the violent-crime investigation then underway. Relying on North Carolina precedent involving later comparison of lawfully obtained genetic material, the panel also held that secondary DNA analysis imposed no new physical intrusion a

North Carolina Civil Procedure Constitutional Family Law

Court of Appeals of North Carolina

Uncategorized

Brincefield — Court reverses refusal to reopen equitable-distribution judgment entered without proven notice

/ August 7, 2026

The Court of Appeals held that the trial court abused its discretion by denying relief. The lower court relied on its belief that a continuance order would ordinarily have been mailed and on the absence of returned mail, but it did not examine proof showing that notice was actually sent. That assumption could not support a decision depriving a litigant of the opportunity to be heard. The panel distinguished cases in

North Carolina Constitutional Criminal Criminal Procedure

Court of Appeals of North Carolina

Uncategorized

State v. Wilder — Defendant Who Refuses to Answer § 15A-1242 Inquiry Cannot Establish Knowing Waiver of Counsel

/ July 3, 2026

The North Carolina Court of Appeals held that a defendant who clearly invokes the right to self-representation but then refuses to answer any of the trial court’s N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-1242 questions cannot establish a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of counsel, and the trial court therefore did not err in denying the request to proceed pro se.