State v. Allen, 247 N.C. App. 179

On July 27, 2013, Juan Fitzgerald Allen was issued a Uniform Citation charging multiple offenses including transporting an open container of fortified wine/spirituous liquor while operating a motor vehicle. The citation did not explicitly state the liquor was transported "in the passenger area."
Allen submitted to a breath test about an hour after arrest and recorded a 0.23 BAC.
Allen was tried and convicted in district court on the citation (bench trial) without objecting to the citation’s form, then appealed for a trial de novo in superior court.
In superior court the State joined certain charges for trial and voluntarily dismissed others; a jury convicted Allen of impaired driving and transporting an open container (misdemeanor). An aggravating finding led the court to arrest judgment on driving while license revoked; remaining sentences were imposed.
On appeal, Allen argued the citation was fatally defective for failing to allege an essential element (that the open container was in the passenger area), so the trial court lacked jurisdiction to try that misdemeanor. The trial court’s jurisdictional validity was contested for the first time on appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the superior court had jurisdiction to try Allen for the open-container misdemeanor where the citation failed to allege the element that the liquor was transported "in the passenger area."	The State argued the citation identified the crime charged and Allen failed to object below, so jurisdiction was established.	Allen argued the citation omitted an essential element required by statute (passenger area), rendering the citation fatally defective and depriving the court of jurisdiction.	The court held the citation sufficiently identified the crime charged; because Allen was tried in district court without objection and then appealed for a de novo trial, he cannot successfully challenge citation-based jurisdiction now. The jurisdictional challenge failed.

McClure v. State, 267 N.C. 212 (statement that no trial/conviction without sufficient accusation; jurisdiction depends on accusation)
State v. Monroe, 57 N.C. App. 597 (defendant must object to trial on citation in district court; cannot assert statutory right after de novo appeal)
State v. Phillips, 149 N.C. App. 310 (same rule that objection to citation must be raised in original jurisdiction)
State v. Hunt, 357 N.C. 257 (distinguishes indictment requirements from other charging instruments)
State v. Jones, 157 N.C. App. 472 (a citation is not an indictment)