Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
State v. Stroud, 259 N.C. App. 411 (May. 1, 2018)
In this robbery case, the defendant’s due process rights were not violated. The defendant asserted that a due process violation occurred when an accomplice was compelled to appear at trial as a witness for the State. Specifically, the defendant asserted that the prosecutor improperly coerced the accomplice into testifying by threatening to charge her with obstruction of justice if she refused to testify and by telling the accomplice that she would make inquiries about the accomplice possibly having visitation with her son if she testified for the State. Because the issue was not raised at trial, it was waived. However even if it was properly presented, it would fail. The court noted that the defendant did not argue that he intended to call the accomplice as a defense witness but was prevented from doing so by the State. Furthermore, the circumstances surrounding the accomplice’s agreement to testify did not result in the accomplice testifying more favorably for the State than she otherwise would have. To the contrary, the record makes clear that her testimony was largely unhelpful to the State.