Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
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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.
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The state obtained recordings of several hundred phone calls that the defendant made while he was in jail awaiting trial on charges of murder, armed robbery, and assault on a government official. The charges arose out of a robbery at a gas station where the clerk was killed and an officer...
In this child sexual assault case, the defendant failed to show prejudice caused by the trial court’s denial of the defendant’s motion for a continuance. That motion asserted that the district attorney did not file an adequate trial calendar 10 or more days before trial in violation of G.S. 7A-...
In this Cleveland County case, the defendant was charged with multiple drug crimes and with being a habitual felon. On the day of trial, the defendant made a motion to continue, telling the court that he did not have time to go over the case with his lawyer. After a discussion with the...
The defendant was convicted of armed robbery and resisting a public officer in Columbus County. Immediately before trial, the defendant moved to continue the case. He argued that he had only just received and reviewed recorded statements of the robbery victim and needed time to subpoena the...
(1) The trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the defendant’s motion to continue. The court rejected the defendant’s argument that the trial court’s denial of his motion to continue constituted an improper overruling or reversal of an earlier order or ruling by another judge....
The trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s motion to continue after rejecting his Alford plea, where the defendant did not move for a continuance until the second week of trial. The defendant argued that he had an absolute right to a continuance under G.S. 15A-1023(b) (...
In this drug and drug conspiracy case, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the defendant’s request for additional time to locate an alleged co-conspirator and his motion to reopen the evidence so that witness could testify when he was located after the jury reached a verdict...
In a child sexual assault case, the trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s motion to continue, made on grounds that defense counsel learned of a potential defense witness on the eve of trial. Specifically, defense counsel learned that a psychologist prepared reports on the defendant...
In an attempted armed robbery case where the defendant was alleged to have acted with others, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the defendant’s motion to continue, made shortly before trial and after a 24-hour continuance already had been granted to the defense. The...
In this drug case, the trial court did not violate the defendant’s constitutional rights to due process and effective assistance of counsel by denying a motion to continue. The defendant argued that defense counsel had been appointed only 54 days before trial and had just become aware of...
The trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying defense counsel’s motion to withdraw or in the alternative for a continuance. In the four months prior to trial, the defendant failed to provide counsel with the names of potential defense witnesses. However, no justification was provided...
In this murder case the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the defendant’s motion to continue. The defendant sought the continuance so that he could procure an expert to evaluate and testify regarding the State’s DNA evidence. The court rejected the defendant’s argument that by...
The trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s motion to continue trial so that he could locate two alibi witnesses. Both alibi witnesses were served months prior and the trial had already been continued for this purpose.
The trial court’s denial of a motion to continue in a murder case did not violate the defendant’s right to due process and effective assistance of counsel. The defendant asserted that he did not realize that certain items of physical evidence were shell casings found in defendant’s room until...
The trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the defendant’s motion to continue to test certain hair and fiber lifts from an item of clothing. The defendant had six months to prepare for trial and obtain independent testing, but waited until the day of trial to file his motion, in...
The trial court did not violate the defendant’s due process rights by denying the defendant’s motion to continue, which had asserted that pretrial publicity had the potential to prejudice the jury pool and deprive the defendant of a fair trial. No evidence regarding pretrial publicity was in the...
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying a motion to continue asserting that the State provided discovery at a late date. The defendant failed to show that additional time was necessary for the preparation of a defense.