North Carolina Court of Appeals

Welcome to the North Carolina Court of Appeals! As the states intermediate appellate court, we play a crucial role in the judicial system. Our court is composed of 15 dedicated judges who hear cases in panels of three, ensuring a thorough review process. Our primary mission is to review the proceedings from trial courts to identify any errors of law or legal procedure. We focus exclusively on questions of law, not on questions of fact, to determine whether the trial courts correctly applied the law or if there were any prejudicial errors during the trial. The majority of civil and criminal cases appealed from Superior and District courts are heard by our Court of Appeals. However, capital murder appeals involving the death penalty go directly to the Supreme Court of North Carolina. We also handle direct appeals from specific state administrative agencies. In instances where a judge on a three-judge panel dissents from the majority decision, there is an automatic right to appeal t...