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

Navigate using the table of contents to the left or by using the search box below. Use quotations for an exact phrase search. A search for multiple terms without quotations functions as an “or” search. Not sure where to start? The 5 minute video tutorial offers a guided tour of main features – Launch Tutorial (opens in new tab).

E.g., 04/26/2024
E.g., 04/26/2024
State v. Goins, 377 N.C. 474 (June 11, 2021)

The defendant was convicted of attempted first-degree murder for shooting a law enforcement officer who was attempting to serve a warrant for the defendant’s arrest for violating probation. During closing argument, the prosecutor stated:

[You m]ight...

State v. Ricks, ___ N.C. App. ___, ___ S.E.2d ___ (May. 5, 2020) rev’d in part on other grounds, ___ N.C. ___, 2021-NCSC-116 (Sep 24 2021)

The defendant was convicted in a jury trial of multiple counts of statutory rape of a child, statutory sex offense with a child, and taking indecent liberties with a child. The trial court sentenced the defendant to 300 to 420 months of imprisonment and ordered lifetime satellite-based...

In this drug trafficking case, the court rejected the defendant’s argument that the trial court erred by failing to intervene ex mero motu during the State’s closing argument. During those arguments, the prosecutor, without objection, made references to the defendant’s right to a jury trial and...

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