Page 4 - Criminal Practice News Today

Where defendant consented to his counsel’s admission of guilt to misdemeanor larceny, and where counsel admitted that defendant took items from a store clerk but did not threaten him, defendant was not deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. We find no error in defendant’s convictions of larceny from the person and attaining the ...

In the affidavit supporting his application for a warrant to search defendant’s home, a police officer relayed information gleaned from his face-to-face interview with a witness, Rynesha Green, who described her own actions in driving defendant to and from the locations of vehicle break-ins and thefts as well as her presence when defendant used stolen ...

At the time of defendant’s trial for kidnapping and attempted human trafficking of a minor, the state was unable to find the victim, “Amy.” Over defendant’s objection, the trial court allowed the state to enter into evidence Amy’s testimony from defendant’s probable cause hearing. Where (1) after the probable cause hearing, the state increased the ...

Even though the prosecution’s chemist relied upon raw data generated by other SBI analysts, the testifying chemist conducted his own independent analysis of the data in accordance with SBI procedures and methodology. An expert may base his opinion on the research of another analyst provided the expert performs his own independent analysis of the research. ...

While it is improper for counsel to ask a witness whether he has in fact spoken the truth during his testimony, counsel does not improperly vouch for the credibility of a witness by merely providing the jury a reason to trust their witnesses. Here, the prosecutor asked whether a witness’s plea agreement and his agreement ...

Even if the trial court should have granted defendant’s motion to strike his accomplice’s testimony, any such error was not prejudicial given the state’s other evidence that defendant was trafficking heroin. We find no prejudicial error in defendant’s convictions for trafficking by possession of 28 grams or more of heroin and trafficking by transportation of ...

Defendant correctly notes that G.S. § 14-51.3 supplants the common law on all aspects of the law of self-defense addressed by its provisions; however, contrary to defendant’s argument, the aggressor doctrine is still intact pursuant to G.S. § 14-51.4(2). We find no error in defendant’s convictions for second-degree murder and manslaughter. In this case arising ...

By the time of the hearing on the probation violations defendant committed during the term of probation, his probation term had expired. The trial court expressly stated, “Good cause exists for the revocation of probation, given the defendant committed new criminal conduct while on probation.” The trial court thus satisfied the requirement of G.S. § ...

DEVASTATING FIRE IN WOODSIDE; 9 INJURED: A massive fire on 59th Street in Woodside on Tuesday, March 7 resulted in 200-plus-person response, 9 injured firefighters and 18 displaced residents. Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris issued this statement following a fire that injured nine FDNY firefighters and displaced eighteen area residents: “Last night’s devastating fire caused

The First Step Act allows a district court to reject a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence for a defendant convicted of possession with intent to distribute 50 or more grams of methamphetamine if, among other things, “the defendant does not have—(A) more than 4 criminal history points, excluding any criminal history points resulting from a 1-point ...