Case Summaries - N.C. Court of Appeals (April 20, 2021)

This post summarizes published criminal decisions released by the North Carolina Court of Appeals on April 20, 2021. State’s right of direct appeal from the grant of a motion for appropriate relief is limited to questions of law on newly discovered evidence claims or claims "inextricably intertwined" with such a claim; where the State failed to seek certiorari review following the trial court's grant of a MAR on newly discovered evidence and an unrelated ineffective assistance of counsel claim, appellate court lacked jurisdiction to consider the State’s appeal State v. Carver, ___ N.C. App. ___ (April 20, 2021). The defendant was tried and convicted of first-degree murder in Gaston County. The evidence of the case largely consisted of mixtures of “touch” DNA profiles found on the victim’s car along with circumstantial evidence based on the defendant’s presence in the area at the time of the murder. The verdict was affirmed on direct appeal. The defendant later filed a motion for appropriate relief (“MAR”) alleging his innocence based on new evidence, as well as claims for ineffective assistance of counsel and discovery violations. The MAR court conducted an extensive hearing on the motion. Evidence showed that the defendant’s trial counsel was aware of the defendant’s significant medical and psychological issues, some of which may have been relevant to the defendant’s ability to commit the crime. Trial counsel obtained authorization and funding for a psychological evaluation that never occurred and failed to obtain the defendant’s medical records. Trial counsel also obtained the services [...]