Opinion
NO. 134A20
05-05-2021
STATE of North Carolina v. Robert Lee HODGE
Aaron Thomas Johnson, Assistant Appellate Defender, For Hodge, Robert Lee. Glenn Gerding, Appellate Defender, For Hodge, Robert Lee. Joseph L. Hyde, Assistant Attorney General, For State of North Carolina. N. Lorrin Freeman, District Attorney, For State of North Carolina.
Aaron Thomas Johnson, Assistant Appellate Defender, For Hodge, Robert Lee.
Glenn Gerding, Appellate Defender, For Hodge, Robert Lee.
Joseph L. Hyde, Assistant Attorney General, For State of North Carolina.
N. Lorrin Freeman, District Attorney, For State of North Carolina.
ORDER
The trial court entered judgment following a jury verdict finding defendant guilty of attaining the status of habitual felon. The record contains a document labeled "INDICTMENT - HABITUAL FELON STATUS" dated 7 November 2017 and marked "NOT A TRUE BILL." The record also contains a separate document labeled "INDICTMENT - HABITUAL FELON STATUS" dated 7 November 2017 and marked "A TRUE BILL by twelve or more grand jurors, and I the undersigned Foreperson of the Grand Jury, attest to the concurrence of twelve or more grand jurors in the bill of Indictment." However, the record contains no factual findings from the trial court as to whether the grand jury found the bill to be a true bill of indictment and whether the true bill of indictment was returned in open court. Accordingly, the matter is remanded to the Superior Court, Wake County, for findings of fact on the following four questions:
1) Was there a true bill for habitual felon indictment dated 7 November 2017?
2) Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 15A-628(c), if there was a true bill, was it returned by the foreman of the grand jury to the presiding judge in open court?
3) Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 15A-628(d), if there was a true bill, did the clerk keep a permanent record of it along with all matters returned by the grand jury to the judge?
4) If there was a true bill, was defendant properly served with it?
Once these questions are answered by the trial court, the answers shall be certified to this Court no later than ninety days from the date of this Order.
By order of the Court in Conference, this the 5th day of May, 2021.