State v. Moore, ___ N.C. App. ___, 803 S.E.2d 196 (Jul. 18, 2017)

(1) The trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the defendant’s motion to continue. The court rejected the defendant’s argument that the trial court’s denial of his motion to continue constituted an improper overruling or reversal of an earlier order or ruling by another judge. Specifically, the defendant asserted that a statement by the judge who presided over a pretrial hearing constituted a ruling or decision which could not be modified by another judge. The court rejected this argument, finding that the preliminary and informal remark made by the pretrial judge did not constitute an order or ruling continuing the case. (2) With respect to the defendant’s argument that the denial of his motion to continue denied him his constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel, the court declined to presume prejudice in this case. And it found that the defendant had not articulated any argument related to the circumstances of the case to explain why defense counsel did not have a sufficient time to prepare for trial.