Since defendant stipulated to his prior convictions and prior record level and since his convictions were consolidated for sentencing, the trial court properly sentenced defendant as a habitual felon according to the most serious offense in the consolidated judgment. We ...

Tagged with: drug possession

State v. Alston (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-182-17, 8 pp.) (Hunter Murphy, J.) Appealed from Halifax County Superior Court (Alma Hinton, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Where Deputy Radford was not proffered as an expert witness, and where he identified the pills ...

Tagged with: drug possession

State v. Hough Our Court of Appeals held, Even though the analyst who tested the substances seized from defendant’s home did not testify, since the analyst who did testify independently reviewed the reports and testified as to the results of her review, her testimony did not violate defendant’s right to confront the witnesses against him. With Justice Jackson not participating, the remaining members of the court are equally divided. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals’ decision is left undisturbed and stands without precedential value.

Tagged with: drug possession

State v. Rhodes At defendant’s drug possession trial, his father testified that the drugs did not belong to defendant, but he refused to say whether the drugs were his own. The father’s out-of-court statement that the drugs belonged to him was not newly discovered evidence within the meaning of G.S. § 15A-1415

Tagged with: drug possession

State v. Harwood An anonymous tip – that defendant would be selling marijuana at a certain location on a certain day and would be driving a white vehicle – wasn’t detailed enough to justify defendant’s seizure.

Tagged with: Anonymous Tip Criminal Practice drug possession reasonable suspicion search & seizure

State v. Rhodes At defendant’s trial for drug possession, defendant’s father “plead the Fifth” when he was asked whether the drugs belonged to him, and defendant’s mother refused to testify against her husband. After defendant was convicted and placed on probation, defendant’s father admitted that the drugs were his. The judge who presided over defendant’s trial and motion for appropriate relief correctly found that the father’s admission was newly discovered evidence warranting a new trial.

Tagged with: Criminal Practice drug possession Motion for Appropriate Relief new trial

State v. Lindsey The state failed to present sufficient evidence to go to the jury on the issue of whether the “bluish” van that sped away from Officer Lee was the “bluish-greenish” van that crashed at a nearby Wendy’s several minutes later, from which defendant was seen running away.

Tagged with: Criminal Practice drug possession

State v. Jones Law enforcement identified the substances seized from defendant using the NarTest NTX 2000, and the state presented that evidence at trial. Neither the officer who used the NarTest nor the NarTest chemist who explained the machine showed that the NarTest was sufficiently reliable as an area for expert testimony. However, the state may prove that a substance is marijuana based on visual inspection.

Tagged with: cocaine Criminal Practice drug possession Marijuana restitution sentencing

State v. Wilkins. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-1237, 8 pp.) (Robert C. Hunter, J.) Appealed from Nash County Superior Court. (Quentin T. Sumner, J.) N.C. App. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: Even though the marijuana found ...

Tagged with: Criminal Practice drug possession Nash County

State v. Nabors. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-07-1012, 14 pp.) (Linda Stephens, J.) Appealed from Harnett County Superior Court. (W. Russell Duke Jr., J.) N.C. App. Click here to read the full text of the opinion. Holding: Where the only evidence ...

Tagged with: crack cocaine Criminal Practice drug possession Insufficient lay testimony