Free Practice Questions for NC Criminal Law Specialist

NC Substantive Criminal Law

Chapter 14 offenses and their classifications: homicide under NCGS 14-17 (first-degree murder by premeditation and deliberation, lying in wait, or felony murder is a Class A felony punishable by death or life without parole; second-degree murder is Class B1, or Class B2 for inherently dangerous reckless conduct) and manslaughter (14-18); assault (14-32 assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury is Class C; 14-32.4 serious bodily injury is Class F; 14-34 pointing a gun); robbery (14-87 armed robbery is Class D; common-law robbery is Class G); burglary and breaking or entering (14-51 first/second-degree burglary; 14-54 felonious/misdemeanor B&E); larceny and shoplifting (14-72 felony threshold over $1,000; 14-72.1 concealment); sexual offenses (14-27.21 first-degree forcible rape requires an aggravating element); drug trafficking by weight (90-95(h)); firearm offenses (14-415.1 felon in possession is Class G); inchoate crimes (14-2.4 attempt is generally one class lower); parties and acting in concert; and defenses (14-51.2/.3 castle doctrine and stand-your-ground).

NC Criminal Procedure

The Chapter 15A Criminal Procedure Act: arrest and the magistrate's initial appearance (15A-501, 15A-511) and pretrial release conditions from least to most restrictive (15A-534); the district-court probable cause hearing and bindover (15A-611); indictment requirements and the jurisdictional effect of a defective indictment (15A-644); the special pleading of prior convictions used to elevate an offense (15A-928); statutory open-file discovery requiring the complete investigative file (15A-903) and the continuing Brady/Giglio duty; search-warrant applications on facts under oath (15A-244); pretrial and trial motions to dismiss for legal bars (15A-954) and for insufficiency of the evidence under the substantial-evidence standard (15A-1227); pleas and the court's power to reject a plea arrangement (15A-1023, 15A-1024); the unanimous-verdict requirement; the statutory appeal of right (15A-1444); the bar on more severe resentencing after a successful appeal (15A-1335); and post-conviction Motions for Appropriate Relief (15A-1415).

Federal Criminal Law & Procedure

The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure: Rule 5 initial appearance without unnecessary delay (with the County of Riverside v. McLaughlin 48-hour probable cause benchmark); the Rule 11 plea colloquy (voluntariness, understanding of rights and penalties, and a factual basis); Rule 12(b)(3) pretrial motions (including motions to suppress) subject to waiver; Rule 16 discovery (narrower than NC open-file); and Rule 29 judgment of acquittal on the sufficiency standard. Also grand jury indictment for infamous crimes (Rule 7); the Speedy Trial Act 30-day-to-indict and 70-day-to-try limits (18 U.S.C. 3161); federal firearm offenses (18 U.S.C. 922(g) with Rehaif knowledge-of-status, and 924(c) consecutive mandatory minimums); drug conspiracy without an overt-act requirement (21 U.S.C. 846, Shabani); and RICO patterns of racketeering (18 U.S.C. 1962).

Evidence

The North Carolina Rules of Evidence (8C-1): relevance and the Rule 403 balance against unfair prejudice; Rule 404(b) other-acts evidence as a rule of inclusion for non-propensity purposes (motive, intent, identity, common plan) and Rule 405 methods of proving character (reputation/opinion); the hearsay definition and bar (801, 802) and the exceptions (803(1) present sense impression, 803(2) excited utterance, 803(6) business records, 804(b)(1) former testimony, 804(b)(2) dying declaration) plus party admissions (801(d)); impeachment by prior conviction (609, the 60-day/10-year rule) and prior inconsistent statement (613); expert testimony under the Daubert-aligned Rule 702 gatekeeping standard; authentication and chain of custody (901); the Rule 412 rape shield; and the Confrontation Clause limits on testimonial hearsay (Crawford v. Washington; forensic reports under Melendez-Diaz).

Constitutional Criminal Procedure

Fourth Amendment: Terry stops and protective frisks on reasonable suspicion; search incident to arrest limited to the wingspan (Chimel) and to vehicles under Arizona v. Gant; the automobile exception (Carroll/Ross); the plain view doctrine (Horton); consent searches under Schneckloth voluntariness; the exclusionary rule and fruit of the poisonous tree (Wong Sun) with the Leon good-faith exception; and digital privacy under Carpenter (historical cell-site location) and Riley (cell phone searches). Fifth Amendment: Miranda custodial-interrogation warnings, the Edwards bar on reinitiating questioning after an invocation of counsel, and double jeopardy. Sixth Amendment: the right to appointed counsel (Gideon, Argersinger), Strickland ineffective assistance, the Crawford confrontation right, Barker speedy-trial balancing, Batson equal-protection limits on peremptory strikes, and the Apprendi/Alleyne rule that penalty-increasing facts go to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

NC Structured Sentencing & Federal Guidelines

The NC Structured Sentencing Act applies to felonies and misdemeanors on or after October 1, 1994 (15A-1340.13/.20). Felony sentencing under NCGS 15A-1340.17 uses ten classes (A-I) against six prior record levels (15A-1340.14), with each grid cell giving a presumptive, aggravated, and mitigated minimum range; the maximum is derived by table (Class F-I add about 20%; Class B1-E add 20% plus 12 months, or 60 for reportable sex offenses). Aggravated sentences require jury findings beyond a reasonable doubt under 15A-1340.16 and Blakely. Also covered: misdemeanor sentencing (15A-1340.23 with classes A1/1/2/3 and prior conviction levels I-III), the habitual felon enhancement (14-7.6, four classes higher capped at Class C), DWI sentencing levels and grossly aggravating factors (20-179), and satellite-based monitoring (Article 27A). The federal Sentencing Guidelines are advisory after United States v. Booker: the court calculates the offense-level-by-criminal-history range, then weighs the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors, applies acceptance of responsibility (USSG 3E1.1), and may depart or vary, subject to mandatory minimums (924(c)) and the safety valve (3553(f)).