Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
About
This compendium includes significant criminal cases by the U.S. Supreme Court & N.C. appellate courts, Nov. 2008 – Present. Selected 4th Circuit cases also are included.
Jessica Smith prepared case summaries Nov. 2008-June 4, 2019; later summaries are prepared by other School staff.
Instructions
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On remand from the North Carolina Supreme Court’s decision (summary here) that there was no prejudicial error in the prosecutor’s closing argument with respect to race in this murder trial, the Court of Appeals considered the...
The trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss a first-degree murder charge based on the theory of lying in wait. The defendant asserted that no ambush occurred because the defendant announced his presence. The evidence showed that the victim was in his residence with...
In this first-degree murder case, the trial court did not err by instructing the jury on a theory of lying in wait. The court rejected the defendant’s argument that this theory required the State to prove a “deadly purpose” to kill, noting that the state Supreme Court has held that "lying in...
The evidence supported a jury instruction for first-degree murder by lying in wait. The evidence showed that the defendant parked outside the victim’s house and waited for her. All of the following events occurred 15-20 minutes after the victim exited her home: the defendant confronted the...