State v. Grant

I fully concur in the result reached in the majority’s opinion. However, I am compelled to write separately in the matter because I believe the standard of appellate review for decisions of the trial court under Rule 401 of the North Carolina Rules of Evidence as stated by the majority and the cases cited by that opinion is incorrect.

The majority states that: “Although a trial court’s rulings on relevancy are not discretionary and we do not review them for an abuse of discretion, we give them great deference on appeal.” The correct standard of appellate review for a trial court’s…