Heard in the Court of Appeals 11 October 2000. Attorney General Michael F. Easley, by Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth J. Weese, for the State. Daniel Shatz for defendant-appellant.
Defendant now appeals.
Defendant has brought forth six arguments on appeal. However, we will only address his first argument, as we find it to be dispositive. Defendant contends the trial court committed reversible error by beginning his trial the same day on which he was formally arraigned. To put defendant's argument in context, we provide the following summary of the events leading up to trial. Defense counsel's plea discussions and advice to her client about pleas operated under this assumption.