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Jury awards man $6M after finding police fabricated evidence
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — A federal jury on Wednesday awarded a North Carolina man $6 million after finding a detective made up evidence and performed an inadequate investigation that led to convictions that sent him to prison for more than 20 years. The jury in Winston-Salem found former Durham police detective Darryl Dowdy fabricated evidence […]
Criminal Practice – Evidence – Recorded Conversation – Partial Admission – Expert Witness – Identification Factors
With no objection from defendant, the trial court admitted portions of a recorded jailhouse telephone conversation between defendant and his grandmother which tended to show that defendant possessed knowledge of the crime that only the shooter would know. The trial court properly refused to introduce an additional portion of the conversation in which defendant’s grandmother […]
Criminal Practice – Evidence – Post-Conviction DNA Testing
We affirm our Court of Appeals’ unpublished decision to uphold the trial court’s denial defendant’s pro se “Motion to Locate and Preserve Evidences [sic] and Motion for Post-Conviction DNA Testing.” State v. Sayre (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-077-18, 1 p.) (Per Curiam) Appealed from Forsyth County Superior Court (Eric Morgan, J.) On appeal from the Court […]
Criminal Practice – Evidence – Defendant’s Post-Arrest Statements – Cross-Examination – Sentencing – Aggravating Factors – Pretrial Notice
After his arrest, defendant told police where he had left his six-year-old victim chained to a tree, told them how to unlock the chains, said he was sorry and that he hoped she was okay, and said he had planned to bring her some water. Defendant was charged with attempted murder, so this evidence was […]
Criminal Practice – Evidence – Body Cam Footage – Racial Epithets
Where defendant testified that she would not intentionally spit on a police officer because “it’s just disrespectful,” the trial court did not err in allowing the state to rebut this assertion and to show defendant’s animus towards the police on the night of her arrest via a video of her in the back of a […]
Tort/Negligence – Evidence supported punitives for understaffing
In three wrongful death suits in which the jury found liability and awarded punitive damages, the district court erred in finding that the plaintiffs failed to show an “aggravating factor” under North Carolina law that would support punitives. Extensive trial testimony showed that the Defendants willfully and wantonly disregarded legal staffing requirements for nursing facilities […]
Criminal Practice – Criminal Contempt – Evidence – Transcripts – Corroboration – Attorney’s Fees
Defendant was accused of interrupting a criminal trial by shaking his head at a witness and making a gun with his fingers while mouthing unintelligible words at the witness, to the point where the witness started telling defendant to stop. At defendant’s subsequent trial for criminal contempt, the court could admit transcripts of (1) the […]
Criminal Practice – Indecent Liberties – Evidence – Medical Exam – Victim’s Credibility – Jury & Jurors
A nurse testified that the erythema, or redness, she found in the inner aspect of the victim’s labia was consistent with touching but that it could also be consistent with “a multitude of things.” We fail to see how this testimony improperly vouched for the victim’s credibility; accordingly, the admission of this testimony was not […]
Criminal Practice – Misdemeanor Child Abuse – Toddler’s Drowning Death – Motion to Dismiss – Defense Evidence
We reverse for the reasons stated in Chief Judge McGee’s dissent (Defendant’s evidence regarding the events immediately before the victim drowned was contradictory to the state’s evidence on the same point; therefore, it should not be considered in ruling on defendant’s motions to dismiss. When considered alone, the state’s evidence was sufficient to go to […]
Criminal Practice – Evidence – Defendant’s Mental Conditions – Medical Diagnoses – Lay Testimony – Second-Degree Murder – Malice
Without providing notice of an insanity or diminished capacity defense, defendant – himself – sought to testify about his Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Pediatric Bipolar Disorder, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder. The trial court properly found that such testimony was not relevant without the additional foundation or support of expert testimony. We find[...]
Criminal Practice – Evidence – Expert Witness – Foundation – Drug Identification Procedure
Where defendant’s challenge to the process used by state expert chemist Lillian Ngong is based on documents, data and theories that were neither presented to the trial court nor included in the record on appeal, we may not consider this argument in our plain error review of the issue of whether or not an adequate […]
Criminal Practice – Corpus Delicti – Evidence – Hearsay – Trustworthiness – Rape of a Child
Defendant’s toddler daughter, “Rose,” told several people, “Daddy put his wiener on my coochie”; evidence of the child’s statement supported defendant’s conviction of rape of a child. Defendant’s own statement – which denied the rape accusation – was the only evidence of other sexual misconduct with Rose; therefore, the corpus delicti rule requires reversal of […]
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