Supreme Court
State v. Hoyle
Whether the Court of Appeals erred by concluding that the element of the felony indecent exposure statute requiring that the exposure be 'in the presence of' another requires that the victim could have seen the exposure had he or she looked; whether the evidence was sufficient for a jury to find that defendant's exposure was 'in the presence of' the child.
In re S.E.
Subject matter jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act; termination of parental rights pursuant to N.C.G.S. 7B-1111(a)(3); lack of knowledge not a defense for willful failure to pay reasonable portion of the children's cost of care.
State v. Alonzo
Whether (1) the trial court erred by not defining 'sexual act' in the context of an offense under N.C.G.S. 14-318.4(a2)--setting out the crime for felony child abuse by sexual act--according to the definition set out in N.C.G.S. 14-27.1(4) (recodified as N.C.G.S. 14-27.20(4)); and (2) such error amounted to plain error.
State v. Mercer
Whether the trial court committed prejudicial error when it failed to instruct the jury on the defense of justification for the charge of felon in possession of a firearm.
Supreme Court Opinions Filed February 28, 2020
In re K.N.
Appeal from an order terminating parental rights pursuant to N.C.G.S. 7B-1111(a)(1); whether the trial court's findings of facts are supported by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence; whether the trial court's findings of fact support its conclusion of law that grounds exist to terminate parental rights on the basis of neglect.
In re J.H.
Termination of parental rights; whether the trial court erred in the disposition phase by finding that each of respondent-mother's children had a high probability of adoption.
In re S.D.C.
Termination of parental rights; whether the trial court abused its discretion by failing to consider the availability of a potential relative placement at disposition.
In re C.J.
Termination of parental rights pursuant to N.C.G.S. 7B-1111(a)(2); whether findings of fact support conclusions of law on adjudication.