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North Carolina prosecutors have considerable authority over the calendaring of criminal cases for trial. Arbitrary or tactically motivated calendaring decisions may be challenged as a violation of a defendant’s constitutional rights. Such decisions may also violate the statutory limitations on prosecutors’ calendaring authority in G.S. 7A-49.4.

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, § 18 of the North Carolina Constitution guarantee a defendant a speedy trial. A defendant’s speedy trial right attaches upon arrest, indictment, or other formal accusation.
Determining whether a defendant’s constitutional right to a speedy trial has been violated involves balancing four factors: the […]

North Carolina has no statute of limitations for felonies but does have a two-year statute of limitations for misdemeanors. See G.S. 15-1. The statute of limitations begins to run on the date of the offense and continues to run until the issuance of an arrest warrant, indictment, or other criminal process.

The Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I, § 19 of the North Carolina Constitution protect criminal defendants from excessive or unfair pre-accusation delay — that is, delay that occurs between the date of the offense and the initiation of prosecution by arrest, indictment, or […]