Court Opinion

ID: 9781506
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 16:49:28.532922+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:34:27.437807
License: Public Domain

STEELMAN, Judge
dissenting.
I must respectfully dissent from the majority’s opinion vacating defendant’s Alford guilty plea and remanding the case to the trial court for further proceedings. Because defendant failed to include in the record on appeal all documents necessary to afford effective appellate review of the issues brought forward on appeal, this case must be dismissed.
I. “Motion to Dismiss and Suppress”
On appeal, defendant argues that his guilty plea must be vacated because it was given in exchange for an unenforceable bargain of preserving appellate review of his “motion to dismiss and suppress.” However, defendant failed to include this dispositive motion in the record on appeal. The majority acknowledges the omission.
I would note that there is a “Motion to Dismiss and Suppress” included in the record that is based upon an alleged violation of an officer’s territorial jurisdiction. However, the denial of this motion is not the basis of defendant’s appeal. A review of the motion contained in the record reveals that while it is captioned as a “Motion to Dismiss and Suppress,” it is actually only a motion to suppress.
Because defendant failed to include the motion appealed from in the record, I would hold that this Court is unable to ascertain the nature of the motion. Rule 9(a)(3) of the Rules of Appellate Procedure provides that in criminal appeals, the record shall contain “copies of all other papers filed and statements of all other proceedings had in the trial courts which are necessary for an understanding of all issues presented on appeal, unless they appear in the verbatim transcript of proceedings . . . .” N.C.R. App. P. 9(a)(3)(i) (2010). It is well-established that the appellant has the burden to ensure that the record on appeal is complete. See State v. Alston, 307 N.C. 321, 341, 298 S.E.2d 631, 644 (1983) (“It is the appellant’s duty and responsibility to see that the record is in proper form and complete.” (citations *189omitted)). Our appellate courts will not assume error by the trial court when none appears on the record. Id. at 341, 298 S.E.2d at 644. What the majority opinion continues to be unable to grasp is that the “Motion to Dismiss and Suppress” contained in the record was actually nothing more than a motion to suppress. Given this fact, I refuse to presume that the motion that is the basis of this appeal is anything more than a motion to suppress. It is not the role of the appellate courts to presume matters not in the record to reach a desired result in a case. Defendant’s appeal should be dismissed.