NC Criminal Law
NBC has this article up about the top national criminal law story of the moment. It notes that “[a] federal grand jury indicted former national security adviser John Bolton on Thursday, making him the third critic of President Donald Trump to face criminal charges in recent weeks.” The article goes on to state that “Bolton ... Read more
The...
If a search warrant validly describes the premises to be searched, a car located on the premises may be searched even though the warrant contains no description of the car. State v. Courtright, 60 N.C. App. 247, 249 (1983).
Even if he does not testify, the defendant may offer evidence of a “pertinent trait” of his character. G.S. 8C-404(a)(1).
The key question for double jeopardy analysis is whether each offense requires proof of an element that is not contained in the other — if not, they are the same offense and double jeopardy bars a successive prosecution.
The Double Jeopardy Clause does not prohibit multiple punishments for offenses when one is include within the other under the Blockburger test if both are tried at the same time and if the legislature specifically authorizes cumulative punishment for both offenses.
Each separate offense charged against a defendant must be pled in a separate pleading, or in a separate count within a single pleading. See G.S. 15A-924(a)(2).