Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
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State v. Dawson, COA23-801, ___ N.C. App. ___ (Aug. 6, 2024)
In this Craven County case, defendant appealed the trial court’s recommendation to the parole commission that he should not be granted parole and his judgment should not be altered or commuted. The Court of Appeals vacated the trial court’s recommendation and remanded for further proceedings.
Defendant’s appeal arose from the former G.S. 15A-1380.5, which was repealed in 1998. That section permitted a defendant sentenced to life without parole to petition for review of their sentence after 25 years served. The Court of Appeals first established that defendant had a right to appeal the trial court’s recommendation to the parole commission under the language of the former statute, concluding it was a “final judgment” and defendant had a right to review for “abuse of discretion.” Slip Op. at 6. The court then moved to the findings, and lack thereof, in the trial court’s order, holding “the findings in the Order are insufficient for us to conduct a meaningful review of the trial court’s reasoning.” Id. at 8. The court vacated the order, remanding so the trial court could either make additional findings or reconsider its recommendation.