State v. Ledbetter

The absence of a procedural rule limits neither the court of appeals’ jurisdiction nor its discretionary authority to issue writs of certiorari.Defendant was charged with driving while impaired. After the trial court denied Defendant’s motion to dismiss Defendant pleaded guilty to driving while impaired. Under the plea agreement, Defendant retained the right to appeal the denial of her motion to dismiss. Defendant then filed a notice of appeal and petitioned the court of appeals for review by writ of certiorari. The court of appeals denied Defendant’s petition for writ of certiorari and dismissed the appeal, holding that although it had jurisdiction to issue the writ, it lacked a procedural mechanism under Rule 21 of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure to do so without further exercising its discretion to invoke Rule 2 to suspend the Rules. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the court of appeals had both the jurisdiction and the discretionary authority to issue Defendant’s writ of certiorari. View "State v. Ledbetter" on Justia Law