Smith's Criminal Case Compendium

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

In this Durham County case, defendant appealed his conviction for felony animal cruelty, arguing that (1) the removal of the name of a horse from the indictment rendered it invalid, and (2) the prosecutor’s recitation of caselaw during closing argument represented gross impropriety. The Court of...

The trial court abused its discretion when it allowed the prosecutor, in closing argument and over the defendant’s objection, to compare the defendant’s impaired driving case to a previous impaired driving case litigated by the prosecutor. The prosecutor discussed the facts of the case,...

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