NC Court of Appeals Archives

North Carolina court says mother of student killed in ride-along can sue trooper for negligence

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina appeals court says the mother of a student killed while on a ride-along in a Highway Patrol cruiser can continue suing for gross negligence against the trooper who was driving. A split Court of Appeals panel on Wednesday reversed a trial court’s ruling that dismissed the lawsuit filed on behalf of the late Michael Higgins and seeking damages from the trooper. Higgins was an East Carolina University student when he died in 2020. He was in a patrol internship program. The trooper had been traveling over 110 mph (173 kph) when he drove off a curve in the road.… Continue Reading

Ex-Granville County sheriff’s convictions over falsifying training records overturned

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina appeals court has overturned a former county sheriff’s fraud and obstruction convictions from late 2022. A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of ex-Granville County Sheriff Brindell Wilkins on Tuesday. Wilkins served as sheriff for 10 years and has been serving time in state prison. The intermediate-level appeals court said that allegations related to Wilkins falsifying his firearms training requirements didn’t meet the necessary elements for the obstruction and fraud charges. The ruling comes seven months after a subordinate to Wilkins had his obstruction convictions related to the training overturned. The ex-sheriff pleaded to unrelated crimes last fall.… Continue Reading