Criminal Practice – Incarcerated Defendant – G.S. § 15A-711 Request – Request for Transfer – Insufficient Inquiry

State v. Williamson (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-07-0572, 13 pp.) (Robert N. Hunter Jr., J.) Appealed from Yancey County Superior Court. (Alan Z. Thornburg, J.) N.C. App. Click here for the full text opinion.

Holding: Even though the incarcerated defendant’s case was calendared after he made a request under G.S. § 15A-711, the appropriate inquiry under § 15A-711 is whether the prosecutor made a written request to the Department of Correction for defendant’s transfer to a local law enforcement facility within six months after defendant filed his § 15A-711 request.

The record is devoid of any evidence that the trial court made the proper inquiry; therefore, we vacate the trial court’s order and remand for a new hearing on defendant’s § 15A-711 request.