NC Criminal Law
Welcome back to the Friday News Roundup. It’s been an interesting week for criminal law news. Without further ado, here are a few of the top stories:
Raleigh considers curfew to combat teen takeovers. As WRAL explains here, Raleigh experienced two large nighttime gatherings of young people over the Independence Day...
A criminal charge contained in a pleading must be sufficiently definite to identify the offense, enable the defendant to prepare his or her defense, bar a subsequent prosecution for the same offense, and enable the court to impose judgment.
Venue is proper in the entire district of the alleged offense, not just the particular county where the offense allegedly occurred. See G.S. 15A-131(b). Probable cause hearings are an exception and must be held in the county where the offense occurred. See G.S. 15a-131(c).
If the defendant (or any defendant in a multi-defendant case) puts on evidence, then state has the right to the first and last closing argument.
The rules of evidence do not apply at sentencing. G.S. 8C-1101(b)(3).
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).