Trial courts may ultimately control their calendars, but there certainly is some power-sharing along the way. The constraints on a trial district court’s authority to manage the flow of litigation are particularly significant in impaired driving cases. Indeed, G.S. 20-139.1(e2) requires that implied consent cases in district court be continued until the chemical analyst who analyzed the defendant’s breath, blood or urine can be present—unless the defendant waives his or her constitutional right to confront the analyst at trial. Trial courts normally exercise discretion in determining whether to grant a motion to continue. However, a trial district court ruling on a motion to continue by the State in an impaired driving case in order to secure the presence of a chemical analyst must consider G.S. 20-139.1(e2), which plainly states that “[t]he case shall be continued until the analyst can be present.” This subsection goes on to provide that “[t]he criminal case shall not be dismissed due to the failure of the analyst to appear, unless the analyst willfully fails to appear after being ordered to appear by the court.” This latter statement is a curious directive, given that trial courts do not have the authority to dismiss a criminal case due to a witness’s failure to appear. Cf. State v. Joe, ___ N.C. ___, 723 S.E.2d 339 (2012) (concluding that trial court lacked authority to dismiss case on its own motion; noting that a trial court may grant a defendant's motion to dismiss under G.S. 15A–954 or G.S. 15A–1227 or the State may [...]
Faculty Coordinators
