The N.C. Court of Appeals considers cases in panels of three judges. That means that three judges, randomly grouped together for a period of time,...
Mark Hayes
Expect The Unexpected
The issues in an appeal are usually controlled by the appealing party (the appellant), with some modification which arise from the response of the...
2023 NCAJ Convention
I recently had a wonderful long weekend in Charlotte at the North Carolina Advocates for Justice (NCAJ) convention. Like any legal convention we had...
A Little Trial Work
If you've read this website and familiarized yourself with my background, you know that I practice exclusively in appellate law. All state appeals...
Special Writs: The Pitfall Of The Half-Informed Client
Sometimes I come on to a case where the client has been representing himself (called a pro se appeal), or where the client has had representation...
Making Creative Arguments
This firm recently represented a criminal defendant in a case involving a shot fired at a pickup truck. According to the State's evidence, the...
Entrapment Issue On Appeal
This firm recently raised the issue of entrapment in the criminal case of State v. Kevin Hayes (no relation to this firm!) and successfully argued...
Limited Review After Initial Appeal
The large majority of appeals in this state first go to the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The Court consists of 15 judges, and they review cases...
Effective Life Sentence Reduced To 13 Years
If you've been reading this blog, you are aware that this firm won an appeal in the case of State v. William Yates, based on a recording error which...