We last addressed the 2023 trial of Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer convicted of murdering his wife and son, in February of 2024 (although Shea subsequently reviewed a nonfiction book chronicling the multi-generational saga of corruption and lawlessness within and without the local prosecutor’s office). A trial...
NC Criminal Law
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Improper venue is waivable, while improper jurisdiction ordinarily is not.
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.
An acquittal under the Double Jeopardy Clause includes a dismissal of a charge for insufficient evidence or an appellate court’s reversal of a conviction for insufficient evidence.
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 superior court has general jurisdiction over all felonies, as well as any misdemeanors which are lesser-included offenses of the felony, joined with the felony, or initiated by grand jury presentment. G.S. 7A-271(a).
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