Good for the Goose: Court of Appeals Sustains Pre-Singleton Rule in State v. Ramsey

A short-form murder indictment generally will not support a conviction for assault. That, at any rate, was the rule prior to State v. Singleton, 386 N.C. 183 (2024) (holding that failure of an indictment to allege each essential element of the offense charged is not a jurisdictional defect). The Court of Appeals recently reaffirmed the pre-Singleton rule, concluding in State v. Ramsey, 922 S.E.2d 176 (N.C. Ct. App. Oct. 1, 2025), that a defendant charged via short-form indictment with murder was not entitled to an assault instruction. This post considers the decision in Ramsey. Conviction of Assault, When Included in Charge After Singleton, the trial court’s jurisdiction does not derive from the sufficiency of an indictment but from the authority conferred by constitution or statute. State v. Singleton, 386 N.C. 183, 197 (2024). By statute, “[o]n the trial of any person for any felony whatsoever, when the crime charged includes an assault against the person, it is lawful for the jury to acquit of the felony and to find a verdict of guilty of assault against the person indicted, if the evidence warrants such finding.” G.S. 15-169. This statute was enacted to settle doubts that had arisen before 1885 as to whether on an indictment for rape a verdict of assault could be rendered. State v. Williams, 185 N.C. 685 (1923); cf. State v. Birckhead, 256 N.C. 494, 504 (1962) (examining double jeopardy consequences). The same statute was once said to support a conviction for assault upon a charge of murder. [...]