NC Criminal Law
Editor’s note: This post first appeared on the School of Government’s blog directed at civil law and procedure. It is cross-posted here because the content is also pertient for prosecutors, judges, and other actors in the criminal justice system.
Like every other state, North Carolina has a mandatory reporting law for child abuse and neglect. North Carolina’s law requires any person or institution with cause to suspect a child is abused, neglected, or...
In district court, jeopardy attaches once the court begins to hear evidence, which occurs when the first witness is sworn. In superior court, jeopardy attaches once the jury is sworn and impaneled.
G.S. 15A-134 provides that if a charged offense occurred partly in North Carolina and partly in another state, a person charged with that offense may be tried in North Carolina only if he or she has not already been placed in jeopardy for the same offense by the other state.
The court is not bound by the rules of evidence (except for rules on privilege) when deciding whether challenged evidence is admissible.
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 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).