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Tag Archives: Serious Injury

Criminal Practice – Sexual Offense – First Impression – Lack of Contact – SBM

State v. Green Although defendant did not touch the victim, when he ordered her – at gunpoint – to undress and to insert her own fingers into her vagina, defendant participated in the action by directing the victim. Given that the text of our statutes does not explicitly exclude instances such as the one in this case and the persuasive trend in other courts is to recognize coerced self-penetration as a sexual offense, we hold that the act of forcing a victim to self-penetrate constitutes “engag[ing] in a sexual act ... with another person ... and against the will of the other person.” G.S. § 14-27.4(a).

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

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Criminal Practice – Sentencing – Restitution – Insufficient Evidence – Serious Injury – Gunshot Wounds

State v. Smith. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-07-0281, 12 pp.) (Linda M. McGee, J.) Appealed from Wake County Superior Court. (Ripley E. Rand, J.) N.C. App. Click here for the full text of the opinion. Holding: The trial court ordered defendant ...

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