State v. Robinson
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The Supreme Court held that the retroactivity provision of the Racial Justice Act (RJA) Repeal violated the double jeopardy protections of the North Carolina Constitution.
Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. After the North Carolina General Assembly enacted the RJA, Defendant filed a motion for appropriate relief pursuant to the RJA. After a hearing, the trial court concluded that race was a significant factor in the decisions of prosecutors to exercise peremptory challenges to strike African-American jurors and resentenced Defendant to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. After three more defendants showed that their death sentences were sought or imposed on the basis of race the General Assembly repealed the RJA. The trial court concluded that the RJA Repeal retroactively voided the defendants' claims and dismissed each of the defendants' motions for appropriate relief. The Supreme Court vacated the trial court's order, holding that the retroactivity provision of the RJA Repeal violates double jeopardy protections and that, in any event, the State lacked the statutory authority to appeal that judgment.
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