Opinion
No. 202PA21
02-07-2023
STATE of North Carolina v. Scott Warren FLOW
Locke Bell, District Attorney, For State of North Carolina.
Locke Bell, District Attorney, For State of North Carolina.
ORDER
This Court, on its own motion, will dispose of this case on the record and briefs without oral argument pursuant to Rule 30(f)(1) of the Rules of Appellate Procedure. Accordingly, defendant's motion to continue oral argument is dismissed as moot.
By order of the Court in Conference, this the 7th day of February 2023.
Justices Morgan and Earls dissent from this order.
Justice MORGAN dissenting.
I disagree with the Court majority's decision, on its own motion, to dispose of this case on the record and briefs as its chosen approach in which to dispose of defendant's motion to continue due to the illness of defendant's counsel; therefore, I respectfully dissent. Rule 30(f)(1) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure states, in pertinent part, that "[a]t any time that the Supreme Court concludes that oral argument in any case pending before it will not be of assistance to the Court, it may dispose of the case on the record and briefs." Under the circumstances governing this Court's actions pursuant to Rule 30(f)(1) and in light of the issues presented in this case, I dissent from the actions of the majority of the Court to conveniently relegate this case to a determination on the record and briefs without the benefit of oral argument. Furthermore, the opposing party described its position regarding the motion as declining to register a "strong objection" to the request. Finally, the Court's actions result in the inability of defendant to utilize his opportunity to present his oral argument to the Court merely because his counsel has suffered the misfortune of contracting an illness. Because this Court has compelled defendant to sacrifice his opportunity to present his oral argument to the Court as a direct result of his counsel's sudden and unexpected illness, I dissent.
Justice EARLS joins in this dissent.