Evidence – Case Law Wire

North Carolina Appellate Procedure Criminal Evidence

Supreme Court of North Carolina

Montanino — Common knowledge proved SUV exceeded felony-larceny threshold

/ October 23, 2026

The Supreme Court upheld the conviction. It agreed that the instructions and verdict form, read together, did not probably change the verdict under North Carolina’s exacting plain-error standard. On value, the Court rejected a rigid direct-evidence rule: jurors may use common knowledge when property is so ubiquitous that an average juror can determine with high certainty that its value clears the statutory threshold. Evidence that the six-year-ol

North Carolina Evidence Family Law Real Estate

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Uncategorized

McArthur — Premarital townhome was mixed property but marital estate received all value

/ October 21, 2026

The published majority agreed the townhome was technically a mixed asset because the husband acquired ownership before marriage, but affirmed the distribution. The evidence attributed zero percent of the separation-date value to a proven separate component and 100 percent to the marital component. A partial dissent would have vacated for further classification and valuation.

Indiana Appellate Procedure Criminal Evidence

Indiana Court of Appeals

Uncategorized

Durham v. State — Testimony established chain of custody and marijuana identity

/ October 21, 2026

The Indiana Court of Appeals held that witness testimony supplied an adequate chain of custody and that laboratory evidence identifying marijuana with more than 1% delta-9 THC supported the conviction.

Utah Constitutional Criminal Evidence

Court of Appeals of Utah

Uncategorized

State v. Munguia — Repeated hearsay caused no prejudice because it was cumulative

/ October 16, 2026

The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed an object-rape conviction because repeated accounts of the victim’s report added no new facts and caused no Strickland prejudice.

Utah Constitutional Criminal Evidence

Court of Appeals of Utah

Uncategorized

State v. Cano — Strategic choices defeated three ineffective-assistance claims

/ October 16, 2026

The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed rape and aggravated-assault convictions, holding that counsel’s challenged evidentiary choices fit a coherent trial strategy.

Indiana Criminal Evidence Statutory Interpretation

Indiana Court of Appeals

Uncategorized

Luna v. State — Children on another floor were physically present

/ October 16, 2026

The Indiana Court of Appeals held that children on other floors were physically present for felony domestic battery because they might hear the attack and the defendant knew it.

Pennsylvania Appellate Procedure Criminal Evidence

Superior Court of Pennsylvania

Uncategorized

Commonwealth v. Holleran — Superior Court rejects rigid test for unreasonable noise

/ October 14, 2026

The Superior Court held that unreasonable noise under Pennsylvania’s disorderly-conduct statute is judged from the totality of the circumstances, expressly rejecting a federal court’s four-factor reading of state law.

Pennsylvania Constitutional Criminal Evidence

Superior Court of Pennsylvania

Uncategorized

Commonwealth v. Moore — Bail cannot be revoked on a prosecutor’s proffer alone

/ October 9, 2026

The Superior Court vacated a pretrial bail revocation because the Commonwealth presented no testimony or exhibits and the trial court relied only on an unsworn prosecutorial proffer.

Pennsylvania Appellate Procedure Criminal Evidence

Superior Court of Pennsylvania

Uncategorized

Commonwealth v. Tarver — Layered hearsay could not prove a victim’s prior inconsistent statement

/ October 7, 2026

The Superior Court held that a detective could not recount a stepmother’s description of a child victim’s alleged prior statement without an exception covering each layer of hearsay.

North Carolina Constitutional Evidence Family Law

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Uncategorized

In re L.A.G.O. — Trial judge could not investigate termination grounds

/ October 7, 2026

The published decision reversed every termination ground. Findings did not support neglect; the children had not been removed in the manner required for the reasonable-progress ground; and no case plan had been imposed. A judge’s memory and independent investigation were not evidence and compromised the neutral decisionmaker role.

North Carolina Appellate Procedure Evidence Family Law

North Carolina Court of Appeals

Uncategorized

In re E.R.B. — Willful abandonment supported termination

/ October 7, 2026

The published opinion affirmed. Clear, cogent, and convincing evidence supported willful abandonment, and the best-interest findings addressed adoption, permanence, the children’s bond with the aunt, and their lack of a significant bond with the mother. The guardian ad litem’s different recommendation was relevant but not controlling.

Pennsylvania Appellate Procedure Criminal Evidence

Superior Court of Pennsylvania

Uncategorized

Commonwealth v. Sanchez-Rodriguez — Undecided suppression motion does not bar later PCRA review

/ October 2, 2026

The Superior Court held that a guilty plea in one county did not preclude PCRA review in another county where the first court never decided the related suppression motion.

Pennsylvania Criminal Evidence Statutory Interpretation

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Uncategorized

Commonwealth v. Gaspard — Theft-by-deception conviction requires proof the lie changed benefits

/ October 1, 2026

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated a theft-by-deception conviction because prosecutors never proved that omitted business information affected the defendant’s Section 8 benefits.

Indiana Criminal Evidence Municipal Law

Indiana Court of Appeals

Uncategorized

Fleming v. State — Circumstances proved knowledge behind refusal to identify

/ September 30, 2026

A divided Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a refusal-to-identify conviction based on circumstantial proof that the defendant knew police had stopped him for an ordinance violation.