Effect of Precedent
As amended through June 18, 2024
"[The Court of Appeals] has no authority to overrule decisions of [the] Supreme Court and [has] no authority to overrule decisions of Supreme Court and the responsibility to follow those decisions until otherwise ordered by the Supreme Court.'' Dunn v. Pate, 334 N.C. 115, 118, 431 S.E.2d 178, 180 (1993) (quotation marks omitted).
"Where a panel of the Court of Appeals has decided the same issue, albeit in a different case, a subsequent panel of the same court is bound by that precedent, unless it has been overturned by a higher court.'' In re Civil Penalty, 324 N.C. 373, 384, 379 S.E.2d 30, 37 (1989).