Similar to its federal counterpart, North Carolina Rule of Evidence 901(b)(5) allows for “[i]dentification of a voice, whether heard firsthand or through mechanical or electronic transmission or recording, by opinion based upon hearing the voice at any time under
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Fifth Circuit Finds Evidence That One of Defendants Attorneys Slept During His Capital Murder Trial Insufficient to Prove Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
It’s often said that the ineffective assistance of counsel test is so tough to satisfy that even evidence that a defendant’s attorney slept during trial is insufficient to satisfy the standard. The latest example is Alvarez v. Guerrero, 2025
Midway Water Lawyers Seek New Trial Based on Bizarre Behavior by Jury Forewoman
Last year, Midway Water System in Florida was held primarily responsible for a piping misconnection that allowed raw sewage to enter home water systems in the Gulf Breeze-area. Now, lawyers for Midway are seeking a new trial based upon
Will a Brady Violation Derail the Prosecution of a Police Officer in Connection With the Uvalde School Shooting?
Pursuant to the Brady doctrine, the State has an affirmative obligation under the Due Process Clause to timely disclose material exculpatory evidence to the defense. Usually, Brady violations come to light after a conviction, with the defense having to establish
Undisclosed Mega-Update Thread 16
With the turn of the page from 2025 to 2026, I thought I’d update my thread on all of the cases we’ve covered on Undisclosed. I’m happy to report that, for the first time, half of the cases we’ve
Supreme Court of Kentucky Finds “Duplicate” of Lease Was Improperly Admitted Under the Best Evidence Rule
Back in 2008, I published Even Better Than the Real Thing: How Courts Have Been Anything but Liberal in Finding Genuine Questions Raised as to the Authenticity of Originals Under Rule 1003, 68 Md. L. Rev. 160 (2008). The
Supreme Court of Kentucky Finds No Error With Prosecutor Comparing Defendant’s Conduct to “Grand Theft Auto” in Closing Argument
Some courts have found that prosecutors are per se prohibited from making “send a message” arguments to jurors during closing arguments in which they suggest that the jury has some obligation to cure the community’s problems through its verdict. See
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Recognizes Doctrine of Transferred Intent Self-Defense
Courts across the country recognize the doctrine of transferred intent. For example, imagine that Dana shoots at Victoria with the intent to kill her, but the bullet goes astray, striking and killing Tracy, a third party. Transferred intent says that
Eleventh Circuit Finds Prosecutor Committed Plain Error by Saying in Closing Argument That the Defendant Was No Longer Presumed Innocent
A fundamental protection of the American justice is that a criminal defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. And this protection was at the heart of the recent opinion of the Eleventh Circuit in United States
Justice Sotomayor Sharply Critiques Anti-Jury Impeachment Rule in Death Penalty Dissent
Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b)(1) provides that
During an inquiry into the validity of a verdict or indictment, a juror may not testify about any statement made or incident that occurred during the jury’s deliberations; the effect of anything on