Issue

Preservation of issues—criminal trial—judge's failure to follow statutory mandate—no preliminary prejudice analysis required

Summary

The Court of Appeals properly reviewed defendant's appeal from his convictions for first-degree murder, murder of an unborn child, and robbery with a dangerous weapon after concluding that his main argument–that the trial court failed to exercise its discretion under N.C.G.S. § 15A-1233 when it denied the jury's request to review partial transcripts of witness testimony–was preserved for appellate review despite defendant's failure to raise the issue at trial. The statutory mandate placed upon the trial court in section 15A-1233 automatically preserved defendant's argument, and the Court of Appeals was not required to condition appellate review on a showing that the trial court's alleged error was prejudicial–a step that would require reviewing the issue on the merits before determining whether it was even preserved.

Summary from the North Carolina Reports digest (official subject index). Read the opinion →