The week began with the report of the capture in Mount Airy of an armed fugitive wanted for murder. Michael Puckett is accused of killing one Virginia sheriff’s deputy and wounding another after they came to his home in Fancy Gap, Virginia last Friday for a welfare check. Puckett was apprehended Sunday evening after he rang the doorbell of a rural Mt. Airy home. The Charlotte Observer...
NC Criminal Law
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Evidence of the victim’s character may be introduced in two circumstances: First, the defendant may introduce evidence of a “pertinent trait” of the victim’s character. G.S. 8C-404(a)(2). The most common example is evidence of the victim’s violent character, offered when the defendant is claiming self-defense. Second, in homicide cases, the state may offer evidence of the victim’s character trait for “peacefulness” to rebut a claim by the defense that the victim was the first aggressor.
A court should allow a defendant who moves to withdraw a guilty plea before sentencing to withdraw the plea for any “fair and just” reason.
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.
If a case is transferred to another district for prosecution, the prosecutor of the originating district must continue to prosecute the case, unless the prosecutor of the receiving district consents to the prosecution. See G.S. 15A-133(d).
A judge may not constitutionally impose a suspended sentence for a misdemeanor conviction unless the defendant was represented by counsel or properly waived counsel.
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