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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In this habitual larceny case where the defendant was sentenced as a habitual felon, the defendant was not prejudiced by the trial court’s failure to formally arraign him on the indictment alleging the prior convictions. G.S. 15A-928 mandates that in cases where a previous conviction elevates a later offense to a higher grade a trial judge must arraign a defendant on the special indictment that alleges the prior convictions. Because it is a statutory mandate, a trial judge’s failure to so arraign a defendant automatically is preserved for appellate review regardless of whether the defendant objects at trial. Reviewing the record, including the fact of the stipulation to the convictions, the court concluded that the defendant was not prejudiced by the trial court’s error.
In this habitual impaired driving and driving while license revoked case, the trial court did not commit reversible error when it failed to formally arraigned the defendant pursuant to G.S. 15A-928(c).