Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
State v. Hayes, ___ N.C. App. ___, 788 S.E.2d. 651 (Jul. 19, 2016)
Where in the course of one instance the defendant exposed himself to multiple people, one of which was a minor and one of which was an adult, the defendant could not be found guilty of both misdemeanor indecent exposure under G.S. 14-190.9(a) and felonious indecent exposure under G.S. 14-190.9(a1). The misdemeanor indecent exposure statute provides in part: “Unless the conduct is punishable under subsection (a1) of this section” a person who exposes him or herself “in the presence of any other person or persons” shall be guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor. Subsection (a1) makes it a felony to expose oneself, in certain circumstances, to a person less than 16 years of age. The defendant was convicted of a felony under subsection (a1) because one of the victims was under 16. However, subsection (a), by its terms, forbids conduct from being the basis of a misdemeanor conviction if it is also punishable as felony indecent exposure. The court framed the issue as one of statutory construction, not double jeopardy.