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., 12/05/2024
E.g., 12/05/2024

The trial judge did not commit plain error in the jury instruction on indecent liberties. When instructing on indecent liberties, the trial judge is not required to specifically identify the acts that constitute the charge.

In this Wake County case, defendant appealed his three indecent liberties with a child convictions, arguing his actions represented only one continuous act rather than three separate incidents. The Court of Appeals majority held that the evidence only supported two convictions, not three, and...

In this Pitt County case, defendant appealed his conviction for taking indecent liberties with a child.

Evidence at trial established that the 27-year-old defendant picked up the 15-year-old victim from her home in the evening, drove her to various locations, had her perform oral sex on...

The defendant, a 69 year-old male, wrote a letter to an 11 year-old girl and asked her grandmother to deliver the letter. The grandmother read the letter, in which the defendant asked the girl to have sex with him to make him “feel young again,” and called the police. The defendant was charged...

The evidence was sufficient to support a conviction of attempting to take indecent liberties with a child. The defendant posted a Craigslist advertisement seeking female companionship. An adult police officer posing as a 14-year-old girl named Brittany responded to the ad. The two exchanged over...

The trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss 33 counts of statutory rape, two counts of statutory sex offense, and 17 counts of indecent liberties as to victim F.H. At trial, the victim testified to sexual contact during her relationship with the defendant; she stated...

State v. Phachoumphone, ___ N.C. App. ___, 810 S.E.2d 748 2018-02-06 review granted, ___ N.C. ___, ___ S.E.2d ___ (Sep 20 2018)

The evidence was sufficient to sustain a conviction for indecent liberties. The defendant challenged only the sufficiency of the evidence with respect to whether he took or attempted to take an indecent liberty with the victim. Having concluded that the State presented substantial evidence that...

The trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss a charge of taking indecent liberties with a child. The victim testified that the defendant repeatedly raped her while she was a child living in his house and DNA evidence confirmed that he was the father of her child. The...

The defendant was properly convicted of two counts of indecent liberties with victim Melissa in Caldwell County. The State presented evidence that the defendant had sex with his girlfriend in the presence of Melissa, performed oral sex on Melissa, and then forced his girlfriend to perform oral...

With respect to an indecent liberties charge, the State presented sufficient evidence that the defendant committed the relevant act for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire. The court noted the defendant’s purpose “may be inferred from the evidence of the defendant’s actions.”...

The evidence was sufficient to support five counts of indecent liberties with a minor where the child testified that the defendant touched the child’s buttocks with his penis “four or five times.” The court rejected the defendant’s argument that this testimony did not support convictions on five...

In an indecent liberties case, the evidence was sufficient to establish that the defendant engaged in conduct for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire. While at a store, the defendant crouched down to look at the victim’s legs, “fell into” the victim, wrapping his hands around her...

The evidence was sufficient to establish indecent liberties. The child reported being touched in her genital and rectal area by a male. The victim’s mother testified that she found the victim alone with the defendant on several occasions, and the victim’s testimony was corroborated by her...

The court rejected the juvenile’s argument that the evidence was insufficient to establish indecent liberties in that it failed to show that he acted with a purpose to arouse or gratify his sexual desires. The facts showed that: the juvenile was thirteen and the victim was ten years younger; the...

Mistake of age is not a defense to the crime of indecent liberties. The trial court did not err by instructing the jury that the term willfully meant that the act was done purposefully and without justification or excuse. This instruction “largely mirrors” the North Carolina Supreme Court’s...

The court held that the (1) defendant, who had a custodial relationship with the child, committed an indecent liberty when he watched the child engage in sexual activity with another person and facilitated that activity; and (2) defendant’s two acts−touching the child’s breasts and watching and...

There was sufficient evidence to survive a motion to dismiss where it showed that the defendant gave the child a letter containing sexually graphic language for the purpose of soliciting sexual intercourse and oral sex for money. Additionally, the jury could reasonably infer that the defendant’s...

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