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.
Instructions
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In this Wake County case, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals decision vacating defendant’s conviction for second-degree rape due to a fatal defect in the indictment. The Court held that a defect in an indictment does not deprive the courts of jurisdiction unless the indictment...
In this Mecklenburg County case, the Supreme Court reversed the unpublished Court of Appeals opinion vacating defendant’s conviction for sexual battery. The Court applied the holding in State v. Singleton when...
The defendant was tried and convicted of two counts of first-degree statutory sex offense and two counts of indecent liberties in Union County. The convictions were affirmed on appeal, but the North Carolina Supreme Court found an error with the sentence and remanded for resentencing. On remand...
A short form indictment charging the defendant with attempted first degree murder was defective. The indictment failed to allege that the defendant acted with “malice aforethought” as required by G.S. 15-144 (short form murder indictment). The court remanded for entry of judgment on the lesser...
Short-form murder indictment put the defendant on notice that the State might proceed on a theory of felony-murder.
The trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s request to submit the lesser offense of assault on a female when the defendant was charged with rape using the statutory short form indictment. The defense to rape was consent. The defendant argued on appeal that the jury could have found...