North Carolina provides unique protections to people who challenge their trial verdicts. North Carolina General Statutes 15a-1335 states a court cannot impose a worse sentence when a sentence is challenged by collateral attack. 

In short, this means that challenging your trial verdict through a motion for appropriate relief bears no risk that your sentence could get worse. This is a great advantage over challenging a guilty plea, which the above statute explicitly states it does not apply to. As discussed elsewhere on our site, unfortunately you do run the risk of receiving a worse sentence if you succeed in overturning your guilty plea. 

With this in mind, it is definitely worth having an attorney review your case and potentially file a motion for appropriate relief. You can always contact our office for a free thirty minute consultation to see if our office might be the right fit for you. If you cannot afford a private attorney, you can reach out to North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services to see if they would be willing to take your case.