State v. Joiner, 849 S.E.2d 106

On April 2, 2012, Defendant committed two separate dormitory break-ins at Wake Forest University, stealing laptops and other items; officers recovered the property and arrested Defendant, who admitted selling stolen computers.
Defendant was indicted on two counts of felonious breaking and entering, two counts of larceny after breaking and entering, two counts of larceny of goods over $1,000, and habitual breaking and entering status.
After the State's case, Defendant moved to dismiss for insufficiency; the motion was denied, the jury convicted on multiple counts (including duplicate larceny convictions), and the trial court imposed consecutive active sentences.
The State filed a timely motion for appropriate relief (MAR) within ten days asking to arrest judgment on duplicate larceny counts; the trial court granted the MAR and arrested judgment on the felony larceny > $1,000 and the non-felonious larceny convictions.
Defendant appealed, arguing (1) the trial court lacked jurisdiction to amend the judgment after notice of appeal, and (2) the evidence supported only two larceny takings (challenging multiplicity). The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding the MAR was timely and the insufficiency claim was moot because relief had been granted.
The court remanded solely to correct a clerical error on the AOC judgment form: the wrong habitual-offender box was checked (habitual felon instead of habitual breaking-and-entering status offender).

Issue	State's Argument	Joiner's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court could amend judgments after Defendant filed notice of appeal	MAR was timely filed within 10 days; statute preserves jurisdiction until MAR resolved	Notice of appeal divested the trial court of jurisdiction and made post-notice amendments impermissible	Court: MAR timely under N.C. Gen. Stat. §15A-1416; trial court retained jurisdiction to rule on MAR and properly amended judgments
Whether multiple larceny convictions (multiple counts for items taken in one continuous act) were supported	State conceded duplicity and moved to arrest judgment on duplicate larceny counts	Insufficiency of evidence to support multiple larceny convictions; dismissal required	Court: Issue is moot because trial court granted State's MAR and arrested judgment on duplicate larcenies
Whether the judgment form contains an error as to habitual status	State concedes clerical error on AOC form	Requested correction to reflect jury finding and sentence	Court: Clerical error; remand for correction of the judgment forms

State v. Sellers, 248 N.C. App. 293, 789 S.E.2d 459 (2016) (subject-matter-jurisdiction principles and raising jurisdictional defects at any time)
State v. Williams, 362 N.C. 628, 609 S.E.2d 290 (2008) (de novo review standard explanation)
State v. Rogers, 256 N.C. App. 328, 808 S.E.2d 156 (2017) (jurisdictional review and standards)
State v. Froneberger, 81 N.C. App. 398, 344 S.E.2d 344 (1986) (single larceny rule: multiple items stolen in one continuous transaction constitute one larceny)
Roberts v. Madison Cty. Realtors Ass'n, Inc., 344 N.C. 394, 474 S.E.2d 783 (1996) (definition and effect of mootness)
Simeon v. Hardin, 339 N.C. 358, 451 S.E.2d 858 (1994) (mootness doctrine and dismissal when controversy resolved)
State v. Gillespie, 240 N.C. App. 238, 771 S.E.2d 785 (2015) (definition of clerical error)
State v. Smith, 188 N.C. App. 842, 656 S.E.2d 695 (2008) (appropriate remand to correct clerical errors in judgments)