Movant was convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon and filed an unsuccessful habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Thereafter, Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019), changed the law so that the government must ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

There was no conflict in the evidence that defendant discharged a weapon into occupied property; in addition to witness testimony, physical evidence collected from the scene, and surveillance footage, defendant admitted to firing shots at the victim’s apartment, knowing another ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

When she was in the third grade, the victim lived in a home with defendant (her uncle) and his mother. The victim testified that defendant raped her during a week when defendant’s mother was in Honduras. Both defendant and his ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

The state’s sentencing worksheet showed defendant as having a prior record level of five with 17 points, yet the trial court sentenced defendant based on 18 points and a prior record level of six.  Convictions used to establish habitual felon ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

The only support for the trial court’s restitution order consisted of the state’s restitution worksheet and unsworn statements by the prosecutor. A restitution worksheet, unsupported by testimony, documentation, or stipulation, is insufficient to support an order of restitution. Although defendant ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

As a result of a one-car accident, the defendant-driver’s passenger was killed. At trial, defendant objected to the admission of the investigating officer’s accident report, which included an estimate of defendant’s speed. However, defendant never expressly objected on the basis ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

At defendant’s trial for carrying a concealed weapon, the state presented evidence that (1) defendant fled from police on foot, (2) defendant was wearing a pair of khaki pants over a pair of green sweatpants, and (3) the pursuing officer ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

Defendant was charged with embezzling more than $18,000 worth of merchandise from his employer. Defendant brought the employer a cashier’s check for $15,000 in an attempt to avoid criminal liability. N.C. R. Evid. 408, which governs the admissibility of evidence ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

Where (1) a search warrant authorized law enforcement to search all vehicles present at the listed address or within the curtilage, (2) a picture in the affidavit showed a recreational vehicle in the fenced-in yard at the address, and (3) ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice

At defendant’s murder trial, witness Nealey plainly testified that he saw defendant (1) shoot the victim in the back and (2) stand over the victim’s body with a gun pointed at him. This is largely consistent with the prosecutor’s closing-argument ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice