Case Summaries: N.C. Supreme Court (August 23, 2024)

This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the Supreme Court of North Carolina released on August 23, 2024. 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 erred by giving jury instruction that defendant did not have the right to use excessive force under the castle doctrine. State v. Phillips, 281A23, ___ N.C. ___ (August 23, 2024). In this Cumberland County case, the Supreme Court modified and affirmed the Court of Appeals decision vacating defendant’s conviction for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury due to an erroneous instruction on excessive force and the castle doctrine. The Court affirmed the Court of Appeals’ finding of error but vacated the finding of prejudice and granting of a new trial, instead remanding to the Court of Appeals for a proper consideration of whether defendant was prejudiced by the error. In April of 2021, the victim approached defendant’s front door, leading to a confrontation between the two over defendant’s complaints to their landlord about the victim. After the confrontation escalated, defendant fired several shots at the victim, hitting her in the left side and causing injuries that left her disabled. At trial, defendant asserted self-defense and defense of habitation under the castle doctrine. The trial court expressed concern over giving a castle doctrine instruction, and ultimately altered the instruction with the following: “However, the defendant does not have the right to use [...]