Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Apr. 18, 2023)

This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on April 18, 2023. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable database of case summaries from 2008 to the present. Trial court improperly considered an element of child abuse offense as an aggravating factor for the offense; jury did not make specific finding regarding the date of abuse, so conviction was ambiguous due to change in classification; court could not consider ineffective assistance of counsel claim without evidentiary hearing on strategic decisions. State v. Demick, COA22-415, ___ N.C. App. ___ (April 18, 2023). In this Haywood County case, defendant appealed his convictions for multiple felony and misdemeanor child abuse offenses, arguing a range of issues related to sentencing and errors by the trial court, as well as possible ineffective assistance of counsel. The Court of Appeals agreed with defendant’s sentencing arguments and remanded for resentencing, but found no prejudicial or plain error. The court dismissed defendant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim without prejudice to allow him to file a motion for appropriate relief with the trial court. Defendant came to trial in October of 2017 for abusing the children of his wife over the course of several years. Abuse included paddling one child victim so hard she suffered permanent injuries and required medical treatment. At trial, the jury found defendant guilty of all charges against him except for rape, and also found an aggravating factor that defendant took advantage [...]