North Carolina Lawyers Weekly

  Although defendant’s girlfriend testified for the defense in his superior court trial, she could not explain how she received her black eye on the night in question; moreover, on that night, witnesses saw bite marks on her finger, which ...

  It was irrelevant to the charges against defendant that his stepson/victim’s father had overcome difficulties in his life and now works with children; further, the father’s testimony about the effect that defendant’s sexual abuse had on the victim was ...

  Defendant was charged with willful failure to report an address change in violation of G.S. § 14-208.11; therefore, there was no relevance to his parole officer’s testimony that, “I have rapists, I have murderers. I have people who hit ...

  At trial, defendant testified that she drank alcohol after, not before, she drove her car into a ditch. Without objection, defendant was cross-examined about her failure to tell the arresting officer when she drank alcohol. Although defense counsel objected ...

At trial, defendant testified that she drank alcohol after, not before, she drove her car into a ditch. Without objection, defendant was cross-examined about her failure to tell the arresting officer when she drank alcohol. Although defense counsel objected when ...

  The trial court found sufficient evidence to support a jury instruction on self-defense; however, an erroneous instruction informed the jury that they could find defendant guilty of voluntary manslaughter even if he acted in self-defense. Furthermore, the instructions did ...

  At defendant’s probation revocation hearing, his new probation officer, Officer Hunt, testified about a probation violation report prepared by defendant’s former probation officer, Officer McGahee. G.S. § 15A-1345(e) grants defendant the right to confront witnesses against him, but defendant ...

  At defendant’s prior record level, he should not have been sentenced to an active prison term for his conviction of secretly peeping by installing a device to photograph another without consent. Nevertheless, since defendant’s secret-peeping sentence of four to ...

  Where defendant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim requires a fact-driven inquiry into defense counsel’s explanation to defendant of counsel’s plan to admit defendant’s guilt to two of the charges against him, the claim is not suited for review on ...

  When defense counsel filed a motion questioning defendant’s capacity to proceed to trial, the trial court ordered defendant committed for psychiatric examination. When the hospital later determined that defendant was capable of proceeding to trial, the trial court did ...