Issue

Interlocutory order—enforcing subpoena—body camera footage of criminal defendant's arrest—statutory confidentiality protection—substantial right implicated

Summary

In a criminal case arising from defendant's arrest for resisting a public officer, where defendant served a subpoena on the police department seeking body camera footage of her encounter with law enforcement, which the Town of Mooresville claimed was confidential and protected from release under N.C.G.S. § 132-1.4A, the Court of Appeals erred in dismissing the Town's appeal from the trial court's order compelling the Town to comply with the subpoena. The Court of Appeals did have jurisdiction over the appeal because the interlocutory order affected a substantial right–specifically, the statute's confidentiality protections–which would be lost absent immediate appellate review, since, even if the Town prevailed on appeal after a final judgment, the recordings would have already been disclosed. Furthermore, where the Town's appellate brief contained a detailed statement of the grounds for appellate review articulating a plausible basis for the statutory protection, the Supreme Court exercised its discretion and allowed the Town's petition to review the trial court's order.

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