As some of our readers may know, I write a monthly column for North Carolina Lawyers Weekly. The topics are what I’d call appellate-adjacent. But this month’s column is right in the wheelhouse of this blog’s readership.
I was privileged to have Justice Dietz sit down with me for a long interview. You can check
The legal aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic will be surfacing for years to come. But for those waiting for pendent-appellate jurisdiction and Rule 54(b) sightings, a recent Court of Appeal opinion combines appellate catnip with a challenge to student fees charged to university students during the lockdown.
Background Facts
Matt and I have updated our North Carolina Appellate Practice and Procedure treatise! For those who auto-subscribe to updates or use Lexis Advance, this may be old news as the first update came out in May 2022. Regardless, it’s high time to make sure everyone knows.
Work for this update began in January 2021.
Back in November, I wrote about the possibility of a fee award being immediately appealable if the amount in question is significant enough. In the latest batch of opinions from the Court of Appeals, that issue reared its head again.
In Preston v. Preston, the trial court was bothered by inconsistent allegations in the
I am pleased to report that the Supreme Court of North Carolina has selected Grant Buckner as its 17th Clerk of Court.
Grant is no stranger to the appellate courts. Early on in his career, he clerked for Judge (and later Justice) Bob N. Hunter at the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. He then
Two significant announcements came out of the Fourth Circuit this week. The first was that the Court announced that in-person oral arguments will resume for the Court’s December argument calendar (December 7-10). This, of course, is always subject to change pending the status of the pandemic. A few months ago the Court made a similar
On Wednesday, October 13th, the Supreme Court of North Carolina issued new amendments to the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure. The key changes, which apply to notices of appeal filed on or after 1 January 2022, are summarized below:
The Appellate Judges Education Institute Summit is scheduled for November 11-14, 2021 in Austin. In light of the ongoing worries about COVID, questions arise as to whether an in-person conference is still planned, what steps are being taken to assure the safety of those who attend, etc.
As of this writing, the plan is still
Less than a month ago, I excitedly reported about a courtroom reunion for appellate advocates and the Supreme Court justices.
Jinx!
With the recent surge in Delta variant Covid-19 infections, the North Carolina Supreme Court has postponed in-person oral arguments and reinstated remote oral arguments for the month of August–and possibly more.
Cannot say that
The return to normalcy continues. Back in March 2021, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued guidelines for when in-person oral arguments could be scheduled. Then, earlier this month, our Supreme Court returned to in-person oral arguments.
Now, the Court of Appeals is letting its old guidelines expire as pre-pandemic procedures return. Yesterday,