Free Newsletter
Elements of crime couldn’t be aggravating factors
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has vacated the sentence of a man who pleaded guilty to felony death by motor vehicle, finding that the trial court erroneously used elements of the crime to support the aggravating factors used in his sentencing. Barrod Heggs killed another motorist when he crashed into their vehicle at nearly 100 […]
Criminal Practice — DWI – Sentencing – Aggravating Factors – Insufficient Proof – Jury Question
State v. Keel (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-16-0788, 10 pp.) (Lucy Inman, J.) Appealed from Pitt County Superior Court (Arnold Jones II, J.) N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: Upon defendant’s conviction of driving while impaired, the state sought two grossly aggravating factors: that defendant had a previous DWI within seven years of his current DWI and that, […]
Criminal Practice — 1989 Child Rape – Mother’s Testimony – iPad Note-taking Instructions – Sentencing
State v. Pace (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-07-0243, 17 pp.) (Chris Dillon, J.) Appealed from Forsyth County Superior Court (A. Moses Massey, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Even if the trial court erred when it allowed the victim’s mother to testify that, when she took her daughter to counseling, she was told, “Something violent has happened to […]
Criminal Practice — Felony Child Abuse – Jury Instructions – Aggravating Factors – Heinous, Atrocious & Cruel
State v. Houser (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-07-0165, 23 pp.) (Lucy Inman, J.) Appealed from Union County Superior Court (Tanya Wallace, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Even though the trial court plainly erred when it failed to give an adapted version of the pattern jury instruction on the especially heinous, atrocious and cruel (EHAC) aggravating factor (adapted […]
Privacy concern thwarts sentence in rape case
A recent case presented a conundrum for Buncombe County prosecutors who wanted to use a sexual offender’s HIV-positive status as an aggravating factor to prolong the length of his sentence. North Carolina criminal law requires such sentence-enhancers to be set out in an indictment, which is a public record — but another state law provides […]
Criminal Practice — Second-Degree Murder – Guilty Plea – Aggravating Factors – Unsupported
State v. Myers (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-07-1178, 13 pp.) (Linda McGee, Ch. J.) Appealed from Caswell County Superior Court (Donald Stephens, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Although it appears that the victim suffered several defensive wounds to her face and hands shortly before she was fatally shot, this is not sufficient to support the aggravating factor […]
Charge conference is a must, appeals court rules
Failure to hold a charge conference before jury instructions on sentencing can lead to a vacation of the sentence, according to a recent state Court of Appeals decision. In State v. Hill, Jerrod Hill was found guilty at trial of attempted robbery with a firearm and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. During sentencing, […]
Criminal Practice – Guilty Plea – Aggravating Factors – Aggravated Sentence – Restitution – Vacated
State v. Rico Even though the parties’ plea agreement included a sentence in the aggravated range, defendant’s original aggravated sentence was invalid as a matter of law because the trial judge imposed the sentence simply because it was called for by the plea agreement. The judge failed to make any findings as to aggravating factors and failed to exercise his discretion in determinin[...]
Criminal Practice – Attempted Murder – Constitutional – Confrontation Clause – Unavailable Witness – Probable Cause Hearing Testimony – Intent to Kill – Serious Injury – Sentencing – Aggravating Factors
State v. Ross At the probable cause hearing, defendant was represented by counsel (who was one of his trial counsel), he had the same motive to cross-examine victim Besies as at trial, and his counsel did in fact cross-examine Besies; therefore, defendant had an adequate opportunity to cross-examine Besies. Since Besies was unavailable to testify at trial, the trial court did not violate [...]
Criminal Practice – Speeding to Elude Arrest – Jury Unanimity — Aggravating Factors – Reckless Driving – Undefined
State v. Banks In order to elevate operation of a motor vehicle to elude arrest from a misdemeanor to a felony, the jury must find two of the eight aggravating factors listed in G.S. § 20-141.5(b). The state presented evidence of three of those factors, and the trial court’s instructions did not require the jury to be unanimous with regard to which two factors were present. Nevertheles[...]
Criminal Practice – Sentencing – Aggravating Factor – Law Enforcement Victim – Defendant’s Knowledge – Second Degree Murder – Miranda – Batson
State v. Carter The aggravating factor set out in G.S. § 15A-1340.16(d)(6) applies when the offense is committed against a law enforcement officer “engaged in the performance of that person’s official duties or because of the exercise of that person’s official duties.” Since the state proved that the victim was engaged in the performance of his duties as a law enforcement officer[...]
Criminal Practice – Speeding to Elude Arrest – Felony – Aggravating Factors – Recklessness – Weaving Through Traffic – Double Yellow Line
State v. Jackson Even though Trooper Robertson lost sight of defendant on Hicone Road, the trooper's testimony showed that defendant was speeding recklessly: the trooper testified that Hicone Road is a two-lane road divided by a solid double yellow line and that, based on the amount of traffic on Hicone Road at the time he was pursuing defendant, defendant would have had "to go around tha[...]
Top Legal News
- Justices seem doubtful of SEC’s authority
- $120M judgment entered against failed dam’s owner
- Minneapolis stores where Floyd was killed sue city
- Bessie Sorge: Finding her passion as a freelance paralegal
- Teen charged as juvenile in fatal stabbing at school
- Star’s handwritten will used to distribute real estate
- Families offer to settle Jones’ $1.5B legal debt
- Stephanie Salinas: Finding her niche as a paralegal
- UNC shooting suspect found unfit for trial
- Property case could have widespread legal implications
- Celebs, politicians face Adult Survivors Act lawsuits
- Despite problems, eCourts moves ahead
Commentary
- Name game can end up being blame game
- Stericycle decision forces evaluation of policies, practices
- Are workplace DEI policies still legal after SCOTUS decisions?
- N.C. justices to decide many interesting cases
- Amotion sees resurgence after almost a decade
- The flip side of generative AI in law and how to address it
- The fight for equal educational opportunity continues
- Court’s term was rough on big business
- Ex-president, bar association have made their choice
- Ruling sharpens boundaries in attorney-client privilege
- Lawyers Weekly debuts new and improved web experience
- US Supreme Court bites back at parody’s use of the First Amendment
