State v. Giese, 309PA22, ___ N.C. ___ (May. 23, 2024)

In this Onslow County case, the Supreme Court vacated a superior court order disqualifying the prosecutors from the Fifth Prosecutorial District and remanded for further proceedings. The Court determined that the district and superior court orders disqualifying the district attorney and his staff did not identify an actual conflict of interest or legitimate due process concerns. 

In 2022, defendant was charged with cyberstalking and making harassing phone calls to the county manager of Onslow County. When the matter came to district court for trial, defendant moved to disqualify the district attorney and his staff, arguing they had a conflict of interest because the county manager had financial and functional links with the district attorney and his staff. The district court granted the motion, and the State appealed to superior court. The superior court left the order intact, leading the State to petition the Court of Appeals, where writ was denied, and ultimately to petition the Supreme Court, leading to the current opinion. 

Allowing the State’s petition for writ of certiorari, the Supreme Court first explored the basis for disqualification, looking to State v. Camacho, 329 N.C. 589 (1991), for the appropriate balancing test. The Court noted that Camacho first required the finding of an “actual conflict of interest,” which only exists “when a member of a DA’s office once represented a defendant and obtained confidential information that “may be used to the defendant’s detriment at trial.”” Slip Op. at 11, quoting Camacho at 601. If a court finds an actual conflict, then Camacho calls for a balancing test of the competing interests of the prosecutor and defendant. However, here the Court could not find evidence of a conflict here, concluding “a county manager’s ‘inherent authority’ does not bar a DA from prosecuting a case in which that county manager is the alleged victim.” Id. at 15. As a result, the Court remanded to the superior court for further proceedings in keeping with the opinion.