Episode 13: Fearns and Ruffin

School of Government Podcasts

Episode 13: Fearns and Ruffin

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In this episode, Hyde and Holbrook discuss two cases decided by the North Carolina Court of Appeals on March 5, 2025. In State v. Fearns, COA23-650, the Court of Appeals held that, when the defendant’s pretrial motion to dismiss was heard by one judge, who rendered a ruling from the bench and then retired before an order was entered, a different judge lacked the authority to sign and file the order denying the defendant’s motion, particularly where the order entered by the second judge contained findings contrary to those found by the first. And in State v. Ruffin, COA24-276, the Court of Appeals held that, even in the absence of a chemical analysis determining that a suspected controlled substance contained more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC, the trial court did not err by admitting evidence identifying the substance as marijuana and the State’s evidence of marijuana-related offenses was sufficient.