Appeal from Conviction for a Sexual Offense
My question involves criminal law for the state of: North Carolina.
My best friend was recently convicted of a sexual offense. There were a number of issues throughout the course of his case which I feel he should appeal, mainly regarding his competence to be tried in the first place.
- He was never offered or signed an affidavit of indigency, was given court-appointed counsel anyway, and when he made motion for counsel to withdraw and requested new counsel (for ineffective assistance) he was denied. The lawyer himself asked to withdraw (because of inability to prep him for trial based on his irratic behavior) and the lawyer's motion was denied.
- Judge denied request to let him represent himself after his written motion and the lawyer's oral motion to withdraw were both denied.
- His lawyer had him evaluated for competency twice. The reports gave conflicting results. One result found him incompetent while the other one did. The lawyer made another motion for further evaluation and that was denied. Despite one of his irate episodes occurring on record before the judge and the whole courtroom. My friend even admitted during his rant that he lied to the evaluator at the state institution because he was afraid of being committed. He said he lied beacuse the evaluator told him that if my friend truly believed his theories then he was going to assess him as crazy.
Re: Appeal from Conviction for a Sexual Offense
Nothing you mention guarantees success on appeal. Your friend needs to take whatever meds he requires for his mental disorder, and work with an appellate lawyer to identify potential issues and determine if they're potentially meritorious.
Re: Appeal from Conviction for a Sexual Offense
I have another question. He was convicted of multiple counts of a sexual offense. The accuser herself said that only one of the alledged acts occurred in NC. So why was he charged with multiple counts if all but one of the acts allegedly occurred outside of the state? Wouldn't that be beyond the state's jurisdiction?