State v. Miller
State v. Miller
Opinion of the Court
The defendant assigns ineffective assistance of counsel as error. Specifically he contends that his attorney, who was trying his first felony case in the Superior Court of Yancey County, should have objected to several references in the testimony of Ben Warren King to taking a lie detector test. Mr. King testified he was with defendant at the time of the alleged robbery. The results of the lie detector test were not offered into evidence but the witness made repeated references to having taken the test. The appellant argues that the State was allowed to bolster improperly the testimony of its principal witness who was allegedly an accomplice. The appellant also argues that his attorney’s failure to request the judge to charge as to how the jury should consider circumstantial evidence shows that his counsel was ineffective.
The defendant was entitled to have counsel whose range of performance was “within the range of competence demanded of
As to the appellant’s contention that his attorney was ineffective because he did not request the court to charge on circumstantial evidence, we note that the court charged on circumstantial evidence. We do not believe there is any showing of ineffectiveness because the defendant’s attorney did not request such a charge.
No error.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. HAROLD DEAN MILLER
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published