Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
Criminal Procedure
Indictment & Pleading Issues
Arrest, Search, and Investigation
Criminal Offenses
Drug Offenses
State v. Smith, 206 N.C. App. 404 (Aug. 17, 2010)
The trial court did not improperly allow use of the defendant’s post-arrest silence when it allowed the State to impeach him with his failure to provide information about an alleged meeting with a drug dealer. In this murder case, the defendant claimed that the child victim drowned in a bathtub while the defendant met with the dealer. The defendant’s pre-trial statements to the police never mentioned the meeting. The court held that because the defendant waived his rights and made pre-trial statements to the police, the case did not involve the use of post-arrest silence for impeachment. Rather, it involved only the evidentiary issue of impeachment with a prior inconsistent statement.