Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
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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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The defendant was convicted by a jury of assault inflicting serious bodily injury and assault on a female based on an argument and fight with the mother of his child. He pushed her down, threw her head into the concrete, punched her, dragged her, and flung her onto the hood of a car. Among other injuries she had two concussions and a fractured eye socket that rendered her temporarily blind in one eye for two weeks. (1) The defendant argued on appeal that the indictment failed to allege the crime of assault inflicting serious bodily injury in that it alleged injuries that would be no more than misdemeanor assault inflicting serious injury, namely, “several lacerations to the face resulting in stitches and a hematoma to the back of the head.” The court of appeals disagreed, holding that the additional description of the victim’s injuries in the indictment was irrelevant as to its validity, and may be regarded as incidental to the salient statutory language, which was present. (2) The injury to the victim’s eye met the statutory definition of “serious bodily injury” in G.S. 14-32.4(a) in that the defendant was completely blind in her left eye for one week and her vision was not fully restored for two full weeks after the assault. She could not drive for one week and was not able to return to work until her vision was completely restored. A reasonable juror thus could have concluded that the injury resulted in a “protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ,” and that it therefore qualified as a serious bodily injury. (3) Finally, the court declined to consider the defendant’s argument on appeal that the trial court should have instructed the jury on misdemeanor assault inflicting serious injury. The defendant never objected to the instructions at trial and failed to argue plain error on appeal. Therefore, he waived the issue on appeal. A judge dissenting in part would have found the evidence here insufficient to qualify as a “protracted loss or impairment” when the victim fully recovered in in two weeks.
In an assault inflicting serious bodily injury case involving the defendant’s assault on a transgender woman, A.R., the evidence was sufficient to establish that serious bodily injury occurred. A.R.’s injury required stitches, pain medication, time off from work, and modified duties once she resumed work. Her pain lasted for as much as six months, and her doctor described it as “significantly painful.” This evidence tends to show a “permanent or protracted condition that causes extreme pain.” Moreover, the assault left A.R. with a significant, jagged scar, which would support a finding of “serious permanent disfigurement.”
The evidence was sufficient to support a conviction for felony assault inflicting serious bodily injury. On appeal the defendant challenged only the element of serious bodily injury. As a result of the assault, the victim suffered from difficulty swallowing, numerous lacerations, a concussion, and severe headaches. The headaches continued at least through the time of trial, four years after the attack. The headaches thus constitute a permanent or protracted condition that causes extreme pain.
(1) The trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss a charge of assault on a law enforcement officer inflicting serious bodily injury. The defendant asserted that he only used the amount of force reasonably necessary to resist an unlawful arrest. In the case, the officer responded to a 911 call reporting a suspicious person who refused to leave a public housing complex. The person was described as a male in his 30s wearing all black and near or around an older model, a black truck. The police department had an agency agreement with the complex giving officers the authority to remove trespassers from the property. Upon arrival the officer saw the male defendant wearing all black clothing and standing in front of an older model, black truck with a beer can in his hand. When the two spoke, the officer could smell a strong odor of alcohol emitting from the defendant. After further interaction, the officer explained to the defendant that he was trespassing. In part because of his impairment, the officer asked the defendant how he was going to get home. The defendant gave no clear answer. The officer informed the defendant that he was being “trespassed” and although not under arrest he would be taken for a “detox.” The officer attempted to handcuff the defendant in accordance with department policy to handcuff people transported by the police. When the officer reached for his handcuff pouch, the defendant became aggressive and used foul language, tensed up and tried to pull away from the officer. Trying to get control of the defendant, the officer pushed the defendant towards his vehicle. The officer informed the defendant that he was under arrest for resisting delaying and obstructing an officer. The defendant tried to turn around, raising his fist as if to “throw a punch.” The officer pointed his Taser at the defendant giving commands and advising him that he was under arrest. The defendant fled and the officer pursued. When the defendant fell to the ground on his back, the officer commanded him to roll over and put his hands behind his back. The defendant refused to comply and raised his feet and hands towards the officer “taking a combat stance.” The officer fired his Taser. However, the defendant was able to remove one of the Taser leads and took flight again. After the officer tackled the defendant, a struggle ensued. Backup arrived and assisted in securing the defendant. The officer sustained injuries from the struggle. There was sufficient evidence of the first element of the offense, an assault on the officer. Specifically, the officer testified that the defendant hit and bit him. There also was sufficient evidence with respect to serious bodily injury. Specifically, the officer testified that the bites caused extreme pain, skin removal, permanent scarring, and hospitalization. Photographs of the injuries were shown to the jury, as were the officer’s scars. The evidence also was sufficient to establish the third element, that the victim was a law enforcement officer performing his official duties at the time of the assault. The evidence showed that the officer was attempting to discharge his official duties as a routine patrol officer by responding to a report about a trespasser, conducting investigative work and acting on the results of his investigation. Finally, the evidence was sufficient to establish that the defendant knew or had reasonable grounds to know that the victim was a law enforcement officer. Here, the officer arrived in a marked patrol vehicle, was in uniform and told the defendant that he was a law enforcement officer.
(2) The trial court did not err by failing to instruct the jury on the right to resist an unlawful arrest. Here, an arrest occurred when under G.S. 122C-303, the officer attempted, against the defendant’s will, to take the publicly intoxicated defendant to jail to assist him. However, probable cause to arrest the defendant for second-degree trespass existed at this time. It does not matter that the officer did not arrest the defendant for that offense. The arrest was lawful because there was probable cause that the defendant had committed the trespass offense in the officer’s presence. Throughout the officer’s investigation, the defendant remained at the complex without authorization, even after he had been notified not to enter or remain there by the officer, a person authorized to so notify him. The court rejected the defendant’s argument that second-degree trespass does not create probable cause to arrest because that offense is a misdemeanor.
(3) The trial court did not err by failing to instruct the jury on the right to defend oneself from excessive force by a law enforcement officer where the evidence did not show that the officer’s use of force was excessive.
The trial court erred by denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss charges of assault inflicting serious bodily injury where there was insufficient evidence that the officer sustained serious bodily injury from the defendant’s bites. There was insufficient evidence of a permanent or protracted condition that causes extreme pain. Although there was evidence that the bite caused swelling and bruising that resolved in about one month, there was no evidence that the injury continued to cause the officer significant pain subsequent to his initial hospital treatment. Furthermore there was insufficient evidence of serious, permanent disfigurement, notwithstanding discoloration at the site of the bite.
(1) The evidence was sufficient to establish that the defendant inflicted serious bodily injury on the victim. The beating left the victim with broken bones in her face, a broken hand, a cracked knee, and an eye so beat up and swollen that she could not see properly out of it at the time of trial. The victim testified that her hand and eye “hurt all of the time.” (2) The defendant could not be convicted and sentenced for both assault inflicting serious bodily injury and assault on a female when the convictions were based on the same conduct. The court concluded that language in the assault on a female statute (“[u]nless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater punishment . . . .”) reflects a legislative intent to limit a trial court’s authority to impose punishment for assault on a female when punishment is also imposed for higher class offenses that apply to the same conduct (here, assault inflicting serious bodily injury).
(1) There was sufficient evidence of serious bodily injury with respect to one victim where the victim suffered a cracked pelvic bone, a broken rib, torn ligaments in her back, a deep cut over her left eye, and was unable to have sex for seven months; the eye injury developed an infection that lasted months and was never completely cured; the incident left a scar above the victim’s eye, amounting to permanent disfigurement; there was sufficient evidence of serious bodily injury as to another victim where the victim sustained a puncture wound to the back of her scalp and a parietal scalp hematoma and she went into premature labor as a result of the attack. (2) There was insufficient evidence of serious bodily injury as to another victim where the evidence showed that the victim received a vicious beating but did not show that her injuries placed her at substantial risk of death; although her ribs were “sore” five months later, there was no evidence that she experienced “extreme pain” in addition to the “protracted condition.” (4) Based on the language in G.S. 14-32.4(b) providing that “[u]nless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater punishment,” the court held that a defendant may not be sentenced to assault by strangulation and a more serious offense based on the same conduct. Because the statutory language in G.S. 14-32.4(a) proscribing assault inflicting serious bodily injury contains the same language, the same analysis likely would apply to that offense.
There was sufficient evidence that a 70-year-old victim suffered from a protracted condition causing extreme pain supporting a charge of assault inflicting serious bodily injury when the facts showed: the victim had dried blood on her lips and in her nostrils and abdominal pain; she had a bruise and swelling over her left collarbone limiting movement of her shoulder, and a broken collarbone, requiring a sling; she had cuts in her hand requiring stitches; she received morphine immediately and was prescribed additional pain medicine; she had to return to the emergency room 2 days later due to an infection in the sutured hand, requiring re-stitching and antibiotics; a nurse was unable to use a speculum while gathering a rape kit because the victim was in too much pain.