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Request for appointed lawyer not self-incrimination
A young man convicted of statutory rape and child abduction is entitled to a new trial because a Pitt County judge wrongly allowed prosecutors to use his application for a court-appointed lawyer as self-incriminating evidence, the North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled. The Nov. 21 decision in State v. Raul Diaz answers a question […]
Criminal Practice – Speedy Trial – Statutory Rape & Indecent Liberties – Gratifying Desire – SBM
State v. Kpaeyeh (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-121-16, 13 pp.) (Donna Stroud, J.) Appealed from Guilford County Superior Court (R. Stuart Albright, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Although there was a long delay (three and a half years) between defendant’s arrest and trial, much of the delay was caused by the changes in defendant’s representation as he […]
Authorities find defendant who fled court days ago
GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man who fled court during his trial for statutory rape has been found in his girlfriend’s attic, authorities said, ending a nearly weeklong manhunt. The strange case included the jury convicting the man despite his absence from court. The 43-year-old disappeared from court on Nov. 16 as jurors began […]
Man flees North Carolina court during statutory rape trial
GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) — Investigators are searching for a North Carolina man who fled court during a trial on a statutory rape accusation. The Gaston Gazette reported that Superior Court Judge Linwood Foust issued an order for the arrest of 43-year-old Gary Franklin Simmons after he left the courtroom for a cigarette on Monday and never returned. Defense attorney […]
Domestic Relations — Parent & Child – Visitation – Imprisoned Father – Statutory Rape
Bobbitt v. Eizenga (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-16-0050, 19 pp.) (Sam Ervin IV, J.) Appealed from Davie County District Court (Mary Covington, J.) N.C. App. Unpub. Holding: The trial court’s custody-related findings establish little more than that the parties’ child has resided with the defendant-mother since her birth, that defendant has been the child’s primary caretaker, […]
Criminal Practice — Constitutional – Double Jeopardy Argument – Attorneys – Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claim – Statutory Rape & Second-Degree Rape
State v. Banks (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-06-1200, 11 pp.) (Cheri Beasley, J.) (Barbara Jackson & Robert Hunter, JJ., not participating) Appealed from Rowan County Superior Court (Anna Mills Wagoner, J.) On discretionary review from the Court of Appeals. N.C. S. Ct. Holding: Even though defendant’s convictions of second-degree rape and statutory rape are based on […]
Criminal Practice – Jury Instructions – Stipulation – Social Worker’s Report – Statutory Rape
State v. Berry (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-07-0763, 30 pp.) (Sanford Steelman Jr., J.) (Robert C. Hunter, J., concurring in part & dissenting in part) Appealed from Alamance County Superior Court (James Hardin Jr., J.) N.C. App. Holding: After the parties stipulated that an unavailable witness’s report could be admitted as corroborative evidence, the trial court […]
Criminal Practice – Statutory Rape & Indecent Liberties – Search & Seizure – Warrant Application – Staleness
State v. Rayfield (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-07-0014, 46 pp.) (Linda Stephens, J.) Appealed from Gaston County Superior Court (Jesse B. Caldwell III & Nathaniel J. Poovey, JJ.) N.C. App. Holding: Even though there was a three and a half-year gap between the time defendant allegedly showed the minor victim pornography in his house and the […]
Western NC woman charged with statutory rape
Investigators with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office have charged a woman with statutory rape, and they're asking people who may have been victimized by the woman to contact them.
Criminal Practice – Constitutional – Attorneys — Ineffective Assistance – Legislative Intent – Second Degree Rape & Statutory Rape
State v. Banks Three months before defendant was sentenced, this court ruled in State v. Ridgeway, 185 N.C. App. 423, 648 S.E.2d 886 (2007), that separate punishments for the offenses of statutory rape and first degree rape (based on a single act of intercourse) are prohibited by legislative intent.
Domestic Relations – Parent & Child – Visitation – Prison Facilities – Attempted Statutory Rape of Mother
Bobbitt v. Eizenga Where the trial court’s findings of fact indicated that the prison in which the plaintiff-father is incarcerated has appropriate facilities for child visitation, the findings do not support the court’s conclusion that prisons are not suitable environments for minor children to visit.
Criminal Practice – Indecent Liberties & Statutory Rape – New Trial – Victim’s Credibility – DSS Substantiation
State v. Martinez Where a DSS social worker was allowed to testify that she “substantiated” the victim’s claim of sexual abuse by defendant, this testimony unfairly bolstered the victim’s credibility. Since there was no physical evidence of sexual abuse, the essential issue for the jury to consider was the victim’s credibility. Accordingly, there is a reasonable possibility that[...]
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