"[T]he lack of evidence conclusively showing where in the trailer park the bullets were discovered impacts the weight of the evidence, not its admissibility. The brief time lapse between the murders and discovery of the bullets, the proximity to defendant's last known residence and the fact that one of the bullets was at one time in the murder weapon establishes the evidence's relevancy."
How later courts described this case
- "[T]he lack of evidence conclusively showing where in the trailer park the bullets were discovered impacts the weight of the evidence, not its admissibility. The brief time lapse between the murders and discovery of the bullets, the proximity to defendant's last known residence and the fact that one of the bullets was at one time in the murder weapon establishes the evidence's relevancy."
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
GREENE, Judge,
concurring.
Defendant argues the short-form murder indictment by which defendant was indicted in this case violates his due process rights under the United States Constitution. I acknowledge this Court is bound by our Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Wallace, 351 N.C. 481, 504-08 , 528 S.E.2d 326, 341-43 , cert. denied,-U.S. -, 148 L. Ed. 2d 498 (2000), holding the short-form murder indictment is *587 constitutional. I write separately to nevertheless state my continued belief that the short-form murder indictment does not comply with the requirements of due process and the right to notice under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution. See State v. Riley, 137 N.C. App. 403, 416-17 , 528 S.E.2d 590, 599 (Greene, J., dissenting), dis c. review denied and cert. denied, 352 N.C. 596 ,-S.E.2d-(2000), cer t. denied,-U.S.-, 148 L. Ed. 2d 681 (2001). Premeditation and deliberation are elements of first-degree murder in North Carolina. State v. Hamby and State v. Chandler, 276 N.C. 674, 678 , 174 S.E.2d 385, 387 (1970), death sentence vacated on other grounds, 408 U.S. 937 , 33 L. Ed. 2d 754 (1972). As the short-form murder indictment does not include the elements of premeditation and deliberation, N.C.G.S. § 15-144 (1999), the short-form murder indictment does not charge each element of the offense and, thus, is unconstitutional, see Jones v. United States, 526 U.S. 227, 232 , 243 n.6, 143 L. Ed. 2d 311, 319 , 326 n.6 (1999) (holding that when a “fact is an element of an offense rather than a sentencing consideration,” it must be “charged in an indictment, submitted to a jury, and proven beyond a reasonable doubt”); Hamling v. United States, 418 U.S. 87, 117 , 41 L. Ed. 2d 590, 620 (1974) (indictment must contain elements of offense charged).