State v. Armstrong, ___ N.C. App. ___, 786 S.E.2d 830 (Jun. 21, 2016)

In a case in which the defendant was originally charged with habitual impaired driving, driving while license revoked and speeding, the superior court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to try the misdemeanor or the infraction where the State dismissed the felony DWI charge before trial. The case came on for trial in superior court about one month after the State dismissed the felony DWI charge. Without the felony offense, the misdemeanor fell under none of the exceptions in G.S. 7A-271(a) giving jurisdiction to the superior court, and the infraction fell under none of the exceptions in subsection (d) of that provision. Under G.S. 7A-271(c), once the felony was dismissed before trial, the court should have transferred the two remaining charges to the district court.