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Criminal Practice — Habitual Misdemeanor Larceny – Acting in Concert – Indictment Allegations
State v. Glidewell (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-252-17, 13 pp.) (Philip Berger Jr., J.) Appealed from Moore County Superior Court (James Webb, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Acting in concert is a theory of guilt, not an element of a crime; therefore, “acting in concert” did not need to be alleged in the indictment. Furthermore, the […]
Criminal Practice — Contaminating a Public Water System – Acting in Concert – Availability by Phone
State v. Hardison (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-07-1012, 9 pp.) (Richard Dietz, J.) Appealed from Craven County Superior Court (Kenneth Crow, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Although defendant planned the crime – getting a family friend to break county water mains so defendant’s company would be paid to repair them – and although defendant was available by […]
Criminal Practice – Armed Robbery – Acting in Concert — Jury Instructions — Restitution
State v. Sullivan Even though, in its jury instructions, the trial court omitted the name of one of the three robbery participants in applying the concerted action theory to the armed robbery charge, reading the jury instructions as a whole, the trial court sufficiently instructed the jury on the theory of acting in concert. We find no error in defendant’s convictions of three counts[...]
Criminal Practice – Acting in Concert – Crime Scene – Flight from Police – Breaking & Entering – Larceny
State v. Bowden The only evidence that could link defendant to the break-in at the victims’ home was (1) his presence in the back yard of the home just after an unknown man was seen carrying stolen property in the area and (2) his flight from the crime scene when he saw police officers; therefore, the trial court correctly granted defendant’s motion to dismiss. Affirmed.
Criminal Practice – Jury & Jurors – Venire – African-American Representation – Armed Robbery – Acting in Concert – Identification
State v. Jackson Defense counsel asserted that the number of African-Americans (three) in the 60-person jury venire underrepresented the county’s African-American population. Neither counsel’s assertion nor the numbers at issue were sufficient to require the trial court to discharge the jury venire based on underrepresentation of the county’s African-American population. We find [...]
Criminal Practice – Burglary – Acting in Concert – Completed Role – No Withdrawal – Jury Instructions – ‘Not Guilty’ Choice
State v. Wright. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-07-0349, 16 pp.) (Sanford L. Steelman Jr., J.) Appealed from Durham County Superior Court. (Cressie Thigpen Jr., J.) N.C. App. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: Even though defendant expressed reluctance to participate in the home invasion planned by his co-conspirators, since defendant’s role was […]
Criminal Practice – Murder – Acting in Concert – Rape & Robbery – Miranda Warnings – Jury Selection – Prosecutor’s Arguments – Death Penalty – Mitigating Factors
State v. Waring. Defendant's statement that he was "not going to snitch" was not a clear invocation of his Miranda rights; therefore, the police were not required to cease their questioning of defendant. No prejudicial error in defendant's conviction of first-degree murder or in the sentence of death.
Criminal Practice – Jury Instructions – Acting in Concert – Evidence – Prior Inconsistent Statement – State’s Witness – Rule 607
State v. Gabriel. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-1011, 19 pp.) (Linda Stephens, J.) Appealed from Mecklenburg County Superior Court. (Jesse B. Caldwell III, J.) N.C. App. Click here to read the full text of the opinion. Holding: Even though defendant said he was just taking a gun to Dennis Brown’s house when he “got caught in […]
Criminal Practice – Burglary Indictment – Acting in Concert – Jury Instructions
State v. Clagon. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-0958, 9 pp.) (Sanford Steelman Jr., J.) Appealed from Martin County Superior Court (J. Richard Parker, J.) Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: An indictment for first-degree burglary is not required to specifically state the underlying felony on which the burglary charge is based. Where […]
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