State v. Jones

*372Defendant appeals from the judgment entered upon his conviction of operating a motor vehicle with an open container of alcohol in the passenger area of his car while alcohol remained in his system. On appeal, defendant argues that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the charge because the citation that the State used as the criminal pleading did not state facts supporting the elements of this criminal offense, as required by long-standing appellate jurisprudence and the express language of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-924 (2015). The majority opinion holds that a citation is not…