Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
Criminal Procedure
Indictment & Pleading Issues
Arrest, Search, and Investigation
Criminal Offenses
Drug Offenses
State v. Bishop, 241 N.C. App. 545 (Jun. 16, 2015)
rev’d on other grounds, 368 N.C. 869 (Jun. 10, 2016)
In this cyberbullying case based on electronic messages, the court rejected the defendant’s argument that the trial court erred by admitting into evidence the defendant’s Facebook posts that, among other things, stated that “there’s no empirical evidence that your Jesus ever existed.” The comments were relevant to show the defendant’s intent to intimidate or torment the victim, as well as the chain of events causing the victim’s mother to contact the police. The court rejected the defendant’s argument that the posts were overly inflammatory.