Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
About
This compendium includes significant criminal cases by the U.S. Supreme Court & N.C. appellate courts, Nov. 2008 – Present. Selected 4th Circuit cases also are included.
Jessica Smith prepared case summaries Nov. 2008-June 4, 2019; later summaries are prepared by other School staff.
Instructions
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(1) In this robbery case, the indictment was not fatally defective for misspelling the defendant’s middle name. The indictment incorrectly alleged the defendant’s middle name as “Rashawn.” His actual middle name is “Rashaun.” A minor misspelling of a defendant’s name does not constitute a fatal defect absent some showing of prejudice.
(2) Neither an error in the indictment with respect to the defendant’s race nor one with respect to his date of birth rendered the indictment fatally defective. The indictment listed the defendant’s race as white despite the fact that he is black. Additionally, his date of birth was alleged to be 31 August 1991 when, in fact, his birth date is 2 October 1991. There is no requirement that an indictment include the defendant’s date of birth or race. Thus, these inaccuracies can be deemed surplusage.