State v. Johnston, COA24-816, ___ N.C. App. ___ (Mar. 19, 2025)

In this Pitt County case, defendant appealed his convictions for possession of cocaine and felony fleeing to elude arrest; defense counsel filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967). The Court of Appeals found no error.

Defendant was arrested for speeding past a highway patrol officer, fleeing from the officer for several miles, and throwing something out of his window. Once defendant was pulled over, a search of the vehicle discovered cocaine and $1,100 in cash. Defendant came to trial in May 2023, where he was acquitted of driving while impaired and maintaining a vehicle for selling cocaine, but convicted of the other charges.

The Court of Appeals took up defendant’s appeal and conducted a review under Anders looking for any prejudicial error. The court considered the trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion for substitute counsel, whether defendant expressed a desire to represent himself, an overruled objection to testimony, and defendant’s opportunity to address the trial court regarding attorney’s fees, concluding that none of these issues represented error.