Smith's Criminal Case Compendium

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.

Instructions

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E.g., 04/23/2024
E.g., 04/23/2024

The defendant was convicted after a jury trial of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and other serious felony charges after he shot and killed his former girlfriend and then pistol-whipped and fired a gun at another woman, a registered nurse. On appeal he argued that the...

State v. Schalow (“Schalow II”), ___ N.C. App. ___, ___ S.E.2d ___ (Jan. 7, 2020) rev’d in part on other grounds, ___ N.C. ___, 2021-NCSC-166 (Dec 17 2021)

The defendant was charged with attempted first-degree murder and various other assaults against his wife in Henderson County. The State proceeded only on the attempted murder at trial. After the jury was empaneled, the trial court discovered that the indictment failed to allege malice, an...

In this gang-related case involving two shootings and charges of first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, attempted first-degree murder, and discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling, the trial court did not err by denying the...

The trial court did not err by joining for trial offenses that occurred on different dates. The first set of offenses occurred on May 15, 2015 and involved assaults and sexual assaults on B.A. The second set of charges arose from a breaking or entering that occurred approximately eight months...

The trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the defendant’s motion to sever where the offenses had a transactional connection (he was charged with breaking into three beachfront residences within 2.5 miles of each other and within a three-day span). 

The trial court did not abuse its discretion by joining charges for trial. The defendant was indicted for: two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon; first-degree murder of Frink; two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury; two counts of...

The trial court did not err by joining for trial offenses committed on two different child victims. The State alleged that on 3 September 2010, the defendant committed indecent exposure by showing his privates to a child victim, M.S., and committed indecent liberties with M.S. It also alleged...

The court rejected the defendant’s argument that he received ineffective assistance of counsel when his lawyer failed to object to joinder of the defendant's charges of armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon. The defendant argued that the felon in possession statute was a “civil...

The trial court did not err by joining charges of impersonating a law enforcement officer and felony forgery that occurred in March 2006 with charges of impersonating a law enforcement officer that occurred in Apr. 2006. The offenses occurred approximately one month apart. Additionally, on both...

The trial court did not abuse its discretion by joining charges of felony assault with a deadly weapon and possession of stolen firearms. There was a sufficient transactional connection (a firearm that was the basis of the firearm charge was used in the assault) and joinder did not prejudicially...

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting the state’s motion to join ten counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and ten counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor with an appeal for trial de novo of misdemeanor peeping.

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