An unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals does not constitute
controlling legal authority. Citation is disfavored, but may be permitted in accordance
with the provisions of Rule 30(e)(3) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.
NO. COA14-393
NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS
Filed: 7 October 2014
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
v. Durham County
No. 13 CRS 57905
WILLIAM TARRELL COOK
On writ of certiorari to review judgment entered 19
September 2013 by Judge Paul C. Ridgeway in Durham County
Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 25 August 2014.
Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General
Amy Kunstling Irene, for the State.
Kerri L. Sigler, for defendant-appellant.
CALABRIA, Judge.
William Tarrell Cook (“defendant”) appeals a judgment
entered upon his plea of no contest to charges of assault on a
female and interference with emergency communications. We
affirm.
On 8 August 2013, an argument ensued between defendant and
the mother of his children, Liane Chestnut (“Chestnut”). During
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the course of the altercation, defendant grabbed Chestnut by the
neck and applied pressure, bit Chestnut’s finger, and kicked her
when she fell to the floor. When Chestnut attempted to call
911, defendant grabbed her phone and removed the battery.
Defendant was subsequently arrested and charged with assault by
strangulation, assault on a female, and interference with
emergency communication.
On 19 September 2013, defendant entered into a plea
arrangement whereby he pled guilty to the charges of assault on
a female and interference with emergency communication in
exchange for dismissal of the charge of assault by
strangulation. The trial court consolidated the two charges
into one judgment and sentenced defendant to 150 days in the
North Carolina Division of Adult Correction. That sentence was
suspended, and defendant was placed on twelve months of
supervised probation. Defendant filed a pro se notice of appeal
on 25 September 2013.
As an initial matter, we must address defendant’s notice of
appeal. Defendant’s appellate counsel acknowledges that
defendant did not give oral notice of appeal after entering his
plea, but instead filed a written pro se notice of appeal in the
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trial court on 25 September 2013. Pursuant to N.C.R. App. P. 4
(2013), a written notice of appeal
shall specify the party or parties taking
the appeal; shall designate the judgment or
order from which appeal is taken and the
court to which appeal is taken; and shall be
signed by counsel of record for the party or
parties taking the appeal, or by any such
party not represented by counsel of record.
In addition, the appealing party must serve copies of the notice
“upon all adverse parties.” Id.
In the instant case, defendant’s notice of appeal did not
identify the court to which defendant appealed and did not
include proof of service on the State. “[W]hen a defendant has
not properly given notice of appeal, this Court is without
jurisdiction to hear the appeal.” State v. McCoy, 171 N.C. App.
636, 638, 615 S.E.2d 319, 320 (2005). However, a writ of
certiorari may be issued to permit review of the judgments and
orders of trial tribunals “when the right to prosecute an appeal
has been lost by failure to take timely action[.]” N.C.R. App.
P. 21(a)(1) (2013).
Defendant contends that although his notice of appeal does
not wholly comply with the requirements of our appellate rules,
it still demonstrates his timely intent to appeal from the
judgments, and he seeks a belated appeal. In response, the
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State argues the petition should be denied because defendant
pled no contest and thus only had a limited right to appeal.
However, even in cases where a defendant enters a plea of
no contest and is convicted of a felony, he has a statutory
right to appellate review of certain aspects of the resulting
judgment. See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-1444(a1) and (a2) (2013).
Moreover, this Court has the authority to issue its writ of
certiorari to permit belated appeals in support of a defendant’s
statutory right to appeal. State v. Mungo, 213 N.C. App. 400,
403, 713 S.E.2d 542, 544-45 (2011). Accordingly, while we find
that defendant’s notice of appeal was insufficient to invoke the
jurisdiction of this Court, we elect to exercise our discretion
to permit appellate review pursuant to N.C.R. App. 21 and N.C.
Gen. Stat. § 7A-32(c) (2013).
Defendant’s appellate counsel has been unable to identify
any issue with sufficient merit to support a meaningful argument
for relief on appeal and asks that this Court conduct its own
review of the record for possible prejudicial error. Counsel
has shown to the satisfaction of this Court that she has
complied with the requirements of Anders v. California, 386 U.S.
738, 18 L. Ed. 2d 493 (1967), and State v. Kinch, 314 N.C. 99,
331 S.E.2d 665 (1985), by advising defendant of his right to
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file written arguments with this Court and providing him with
the documents necessary for him to do so.
Defendant has not filed any written arguments on his own
behalf with this Court, and a reasonable time in which he could
have done so has passed. In accordance with Anders, we have
fully examined the record to determine whether any issues of
arguable merit appear therefrom. We have been unable to find
any possible prejudicial error and conclude that the appeal is
wholly frivolous. Therefore, the trial court’s judgment is
affirmed.
Affirmed.
Judges GEER and McCULLOUGH concur.
Report per Rule 30(e).