§ 15A-1431. Appeals by defendants from magistrate and district court judge; trial de novo.
Article 90.
Appeals from Magistratesand District Court Judges.
§ 15A‑1431. Appeals bydefendants from magistrate and district court judge; trial de novo.
(a) A defendantconvicted before a magistrate may appeal for trial de novo before a districtcourt judge without a jury.
(b) A defendantconvicted in the district court before the judge may appeal to the superiorcourt for trial de novo with a jury as provided by law. Upon the docketing inthe superior court of an appeal from a judgment imposed pursuant to a pleaarrangement between the State and the defendant, the jurisdiction of thesuperior court over any misdemeanor dismissed, reduced, or modified pursuant tothat plea arrangement shall be the same as was had by the district court priorto the plea arrangement.
(c) Within 10 days ofentry of judgment, notice of appeal may be given orally in open court or inwriting to the clerk. Within 10 days of entry of judgment, the defendant maywithdraw his appeal and comply with the judgment. Upon expiration of the 10‑dayperiod, if an appeal has been entered and not withdrawn, the clerk musttransfer the case to the appropriate court.
(d) A defendantconvicted by a magistrate or district court judge is not barred from appealbecause of compliance with the judgment, but notice of appeal after compliancemust be given by the defendant in person to the magistrate or judge who heardthe case or, if he is not available, notice must be given:
(1) Before a magistratein the county, in the case of appeals from the magistrate; or
(2) During an opensession of district court in the district court district as defined in G.S. 7A‑133,in the case of appeals from district court.
The magistrate or district courtjudge must review the case and fix conditions of pretrial release asappropriate. If a defendant has paid a fine or costs and then appeals, theamount paid must be remitted to the defendant, but the judge, clerk ormagistrate to whom notice of appeal is given may order the remission delayedpending the determination of the appeal.
(e) Any order ofpretrial release remains in effect pending appeal by the defendant unless thejudge modifies the order.
(f) Repealed bySession Laws 2005‑339, s. 1, effective August 26, 2005.
(f1) Appeal pursuant tothis section stays the execution of all portions of the judgment, including allof the following:
(1) Payment of costs.
(2) Payment of a fine.
(3) Probation or specialprobation.
(4) Active punishment.
Pursuant to subsection (e) ofthis section, however, the judge may order any appropriate condition ofpretrial release, including confinement in a local confinement facility,pending the trial de novo in superior court.
(g) The defendant maywithdraw his appeal at any time prior to calendaring of the case for trial denovo. The case is then automatically remanded to the court from which theappeal was taken, for execution of the judgment.
(h) The defendant maywithdraw his appeal after the calendaring of the case for trial de novo only byconsent of the court, and with the attachment of costs of that court, unlessthe costs or any part of the costs are remitted by the court. The case may thenbe remanded by order of the court to the court from which the appeal was takenfor execution of the judgment with any additional court costs that attached andthat have not been remitted. (1977, c. 711, s. 1; 1979, c. 758, p. 2; 1979, 2ndSess., c. 1328, s. 1; 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1037, s. 72; 1991, c. 63, s.1; 2005‑339, s. 1.)