North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
In her opening statement, the prosecutor said the jury would hear defendant’s roommate testify that defendant had a mattress on his floor at the time he allegedly abused his girlfriend’s young daughter. Although the roommate did not testify, defendant has not shown that the prosecutor made improper statements to the jury in the opening statement.
We find no error in defendant’s convictions for taking indecent liberties with a child and attaining habitual-felon status.
The state asked a sheriff’s investigator whether the victim’s “disclosure” was consistent with her testimony at trial, and the investigator said it was. Our Supreme Court has expressed concern and has warned the state of its gross use of “disclosure” in a context to vouch or bolster a prosecuting witness upon proper objection. However, given the context of the testimony and the limited questions asked by the state, the investigator’s testimony did not vouch for the victim’s credibility or constitute plain error.
State v. Owens (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-005-23, 12 pp.) (John Tyson, J.) Appealed from Rutherford County Superior Court (Lisa Bell, J.) Joseph Finarelli for the state; William Spence for defendant. 2023-NCCOA-8
