State v. Grullon (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-07-0242, 14 pp.) (Martha Geer, J.) Appealed from Mecklenburg County Superior Court (Robert Sumner, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Where defendant formulated a plan to rob the victim, he waited under a darkened staircase for ...

Tagged with: Intent to Kill

State v. Ramseur Even though the state failed to provide defendant with an investigator’s handwritten notes, which indicated that Deleon Dalton -- who had been involved in an affray with the victims – asked for a gun on the night the victims were shot, this same information was contained in a report which was timely provided to defendant. Moreover, the investigator’s testimony at the hearing on defendant’s motion for appropriate relief clarified that Dalton never received the gun. We cannot conclude that defendant has shown a reasonable probability that the outcome of his trial could have been different if he had received the investigator’s notes before trial.

Tagged with: Intent to Kill

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 defendant’s right to confront the witnesses against him when the court admitted Besies’ testimony from the probable cause hearing into evidence.

Tagged with: Aggravating Factors Attempted Murder Confrontation clause Constitutional Criminal Practice Intent to Kill sentencing Serious Injury

State v. Teague The state presented enough evidence of defendant’s intent to kill to reach the jury on a charge of attempted murder: the day that defendant was told to leave the victims’ residence by their daughter-in-law, defendant drove to Walmart and bought a pair of binoculars and a knife; eventually returned to the victims’ residence; laid near the residence watching them with his binoculars; when Maranda — defendant’s teenage wife — and the victims went to bed, he entered the residence and cut both of the victims multiple times in the neck while they were asleep.

Tagged with: Attempted Murder Closing Arguments Criminal Practice Intent to Kill