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.
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In this assault inflicting serious injury case, the evidence was sufficient for a bulletproof vest sentencing enhancement. The victim testified that when he punched the defendant’s chest, it felt padded; the victim told two police officers that both attackers wore bulletproof vests; and when the defendant’s vehicle was stopped after the shooting, a bulletproof vest was found on the floor where the defendant was sitting.
The trial court’s jury instruction regarding the bulletproof vest enhancement was not improper. The defendant argued that the trial court erred by instructing the jury that it could find this enhancement if it found that he wore or had in his immediate possession a bulletproof vest. The defendant argued that this instruction improperly presented the jury with two alternative theories, only one of which was supported by the evidence. The court rejected the defendant’s argument that there was no evidence that he had such a vest in his immediate possession. Among other things, the police found a bulletproof vest in the back of the vehicle where the defendant had been sitting when fleeing the crime scene.