Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
State v. Avent, 222 N.C. App. 147 (Aug. 7, 2012)
The trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s motion to compel disclosure of the identity of a confidential informant who provided the defendant’s cell phone number to the police. Applying Roviaro v. United States, 353 U.S. 53 (1957), the court noted that the defendant failed to show or allege that the informant participated in the crime and that the evidence did not contradict as to material facts that the informant could clarify. Although the State claimed that the defendant was the shooter and the defendant claimed he was not at the scene, the defendant failed to show how the informant’s identity would be relevant to this issue. Additionally, evidence independent of the informant’s testimony established the defendant’s guilt, including an eyewitness to the murder.