An unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals does not constitute 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).