Case Summaries – Court of Appeals of North Carolina (May 3, 2022)

This post summarizes published criminal law decisions from the Court of Appeals of North Carolina released on May 3, 2022.  These summaries will be added to the School’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable database of case summaries from 2008 to present. Trial court erred by failing to conduct a hearing on the ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC) claims raised by the defendant in his motion for appropriate relief (MAR). The trial court further erred by barring the defendant from filing a future MAR. State v. Ballard, 2022-NCCOA-294, ___ N.C. App. ___ (May 3, 2022). In this Brunswick County case, the defendant appealed from an order denying his motion for appropriate relief (“MAR”) filed after his conviction for robbery with a firearm and related offenses. The defendant argued on appeal that the trial court erred by (1) denying his MAR because law enforcement’s loss of an eyewitness statement was a Brady violation; (2) denying his MAR because the State presented false testimony, (3) failing to hold an evidentiary hearing on his claims, and (4) barring the defendant from filing future MARs. (1) The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling deny the defendant’s due process claim under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), that the State suppressed favorable evidence. Noting that to establish a Brady violation, the defendant must show that the suppressed evidence was material, the Court of Appeals concluded that the lost statement from an eyewitness did not meet this standard. Central to the Court’s conclusion [...]