"In July, a San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled that Shinnick was innocent by "findings of fact" -- a decision that essentially erases all record of the case."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/30/BUGTGKRHSF1.DTL
The quote is about 2/3 of the way down.
Is this a possibility in NC?
It's called a directed verdict; and yes, that can happen in NC.