Criminal Case Information
The Court of Appeals rejected the State’s argument that the defendant did not protect for appellate evaluation the problem of the judge’s refusal to allow the testimony. The defendant was not required to elicit the testimony earlier than the jury the place, as right here, the defendant elicited the testimony in voir dire and secured a ruling from the trial choose. 268 , where the trial judge conducted a voir dire, dominated that most of the proposed testament was inadmissible, but indicated that counsel may ask other questions, which the judge would rule on when the questions have been requested. When the jurors returned, nevertheless, the defendant didn’t ask any questions, together with questions not but ruled on by the decide.
Criminal Procedure > Trial In The Defendant’s Absence; Right To Be Present
Her general statement about “this incident that happened” was not improper, however her assertion that the victim would want remedy “due to the sexual abuse that she experienced” and “I believe [the victim]” have been improper as an opinion of the victim’s veracity. Finally, defense counsel’s failure to object to the improper vouching proof was not ineffective help of counsel where there was no cheap probability that the errors prejudiced the defendant.
The defendant pled guilty to 2 counts of manufacturing methamphetamine after the trial court denied his motion to suppress gadgets seized during a search. The case came again before the court docket of appeals on remand from the supreme courtroom for reconsideration in light ofState v. Ledbetter, ___ N.C. The court docket of appeals dismissed the defendant’s direct enchantment as a result of the defendant failed to supply discover to the State of his intent to do so before plea negotiations had been finalized as required underState v. Tew, 326 N.C. The courtroom of appeals denied the defendant’s petition for writ of certiorari, rejecting his contention that it must be granted underState v. Davis, 237 N.C. 22 .Davis, the courtroom of appeals concluded, failed to deal with prior binding courtroom of appeals authority.
The Court acknowledged that North Carolina allows cross-examination of a key witness concerning the witness’s previous psychological issues or defects to problem the witness’s credibility, citing State v. Williams, 330 N.C. The Court held that the defendant failed to point out that the trial choose abused his discretion to find that the excluded testimony was not related or to the extent it was related that it was extra prejudicial than probative.
A defendant typically has 10 days from the time of judgment to provide discover of de novo enchantment by filing a written discover of appeal or by giving discover in open court. Under subsection (d), nonetheless, as soon as a defendant complies with a district court docket judgment, notice of enchantment must be given by the defendant in person before the presiding choose or sure different officials. According the State, the defendant had complied with the judgment, since he already served the sentence imposed by the district courtroom. His discover of appeal was therefore defective and disadvantaged the superior court of jurisdiction to hear the enchantment.
As a outcome, the court docket deemed itself obliged to observe the supreme court docket’s guidance in State v. Jones, 358 N.C. 473 , that when confronted with inconsistent opinions from separate panels, a subsequent panel of the courtroom of appeals should follow the sooner opinion. The courtroom viewedLedbetterandStubbsas clarifying the court docket of appeals’ jurisdiction to listen to petitions for writ of certiorari, however not as relieving the court docket of its obligation to observe binding substantive precedent. A concurring decide would have denied the defendant’s petition for certiorari, however as a matter of discretion, and not pursuant to prior court of appeals cases that the decide didn’t view as binding afterLedbetterandStubbs. 15A-1431 proscribes jurisdictional guidelines governing criminal appeals from district to superior court docket.
During cross-examination of the complaining witness in a case involving a charge of assault on a feminine, the defendant began a line of inquiries to which the State objected. The trial decide excused the jury and performed a voir dire, throughout which the defendant’s counsel demonstrated the proposed cross- examination of the witness, including questions about her mental well being and therapy. The trial decide ruled that these questions were not related and that to the extent they had been related they had been more prejudicial than probative. When cross-examination resumed in entrance of the jury, the defendant didn’t try and elicit testament concerning the witness’s mental well being.