No Appeal of Confinement in Response to Violation

There are frequently asked questions, and then there are very frequently asked questions. Regarding Justice Reinvestment, there has been no more frequently asked question than this: Can you appeal a CRV? We learned this morning that you cannot. The court of appeals held in State v. Romero that there is no right to appeal from a period of confinement in response to violation imposed under G.S. 15A-1344(d2). Mr. Romero was a felony probationer who committed technical violations of probation in 2012. In response, the court ordered a 90-day CRV. The defendant appealed, but the State filed a motion to dismiss the appeal on the grounds that there is no statutory right to appeal a CRV. The court of appeals agreed. The court noted that G.S. 15A-1347 allows a probationer to appeal only when the court “activates a sentence or imposes special probation.” Because CRV is neither of those things, and because a defendant’s right to appeal is purely a creation of state statute, the court concluded that there is no right to appeal a CRV. The court rejected the defendant’s argument that imposition of a CRV is a final judgment of a superior court, generally appealable under G.S. 7A-27(b). In a footnote, the court declined to express any opinion about whether a different rule would apply to a so-called terminal CRV—that is, one that uses up the defendant’s entire remaining suspended sentence. Slip op. at 6 n. 1. Mr. Romero had additional time left to serve on his 6–8 and 18–22 month [...]