State v. Perkinson, ___ N.C. App. ___, ___ S.E.2d ___ (May. 19, 2020)

The defendant entered into a plea agreement with the State in superior court, after he appealed for a trial de novo, under which he would plead guilty to misdemeanor larceny and first-degree trespassing and receive a suspended sentence of 180 days, with a split sentence of 30 days. The arrangement also stated that “[u]ltimate sentencing shall be in the discretion of the court[.]” The defendant pled guilty, and the superior court judge imposed an active sentence of imprisonment of 120 days for the larceny and 60 days for the trespass, to run consecutively. The defendant made an unintelligible remark after sentencing, and the judge held him in direct criminal contempt and imposed an additional 30 days in jail. Thereafter, the superior court entered a consent order allowing the defendant to withdraw his plea, vacating the judgment for misdemeanor larceny and first-degree trespass, and allowing the State to proceed on the original plea offer. The appeal concerned the contempt judgment only. The Court of Appeals reversed the contempt judgment, holding that the trial judge failed to give the defendant summary notice and an opportunity to be heard before entering judgment in accordance with G.S. 5A-14(b). Although the findings and order signed by the trial judge contain a preprinted finding that “the contemnor was given summary notice of the charges and summary opportunity to respond,” the Court found that the record directly contradicted the form language and that no notice or opportunity to be heard was given. The Court rejected the State’s argument that because the defendant had already served the contempt sentence, the defendant’s appeal was moot. That argument, if accepted, would allow a defendant to be criminally confined without judicial review so long as the sentence was completed.