North Carolina Post-Conviction

A motion for appropriate relief is North Carolina’s primary means of filing for post conviction relief. It is North Carolina’s equivalent to a “post conviction petition.” 

One really unique thing about a motion for appropriate relief in North Carolina is that most motions for appropriate relief can be filed at any point after your conviction: even many years later. There are a certain number of bases for your motion that have to be filed within 10 days of your conviction being final, but post conviction motions based on ineffective assistance of counsel or new evidence, the most common bases for post conviction motions, can be filed at any time. 

Like in every state and federal court, much of your attorney’s strategy in pursuing post conviction relief for you is determined by whether or not you pled guilty or went to trial. The videos discussing these two different scenarios are listed at the end of the video above, but for additional reference I discuss what I would want you to consider in challenging a guilty plea here, particularly the risks involved, and how I would advise you in challenging a trial verdict here.

Finally, most states do not allow filing a petition for post conviction relief years after your conviction, so if you are in North Carolina and you think there were errors in your case that could lead to post conviction relief, contact our office today!