Complicated: Premature Oral Notices of Appeal & Writs of Certiorari

Sometimes you fall headlong into a chorus you thought you knew by heart—only to discover the bridge is where all the action is. For appellate practitioners, that action seems to be happening more and more in orders issued by the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The latest big order highlights how trial attorneys in criminal cases giving oral notices of appeal before sentencing can create problems under the Court of Appeals’ discretionary certiorari power.