Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Feb. 5, 2025)

This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on February 5, 2025. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable database of case summaries from 2008 to the present. (1) Trial court failed to articulate findings on speedy trial motion, justifying remand; (2) decision not to inquire further into juror who allegedly fell asleep was within trial court’s discretion; (3) omission during clarification of jury instructions did not rise to plain error. State v. Boyd, COA 24-36, ___ N.C. App. ___ (Feb. 5, 2025). In this Pasquotank County case, defendant appealed his convictions for first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, and interfering with an electronic monitoring device, arguing error in (1) violation of his right to a speedy trial, (2) failure to inquire or replace a juror who fell asleep, and (3) giving clarification of jury instructions. The Court of Appeals remanded for consideration of the relevant factors in (1), but found no error with (2)-(3). In October of 2020, the victim was found shot to death in a parked vehicle at an Elizabeth City apartment complex. Witnesses observed the victim and another man, later identified as defendant, arguing in the parking lot before the shooting. Defendant was arrested in New York in November 2020 and was held until his trial in March of 2023. During this time, defendant filed two motions for speedy trial and a motion to dismiss for violation of his speedy [...]