State v. Westmoreland
This text of 122 S.E.2d 702 (State v. Westmoreland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
Opinion
The criminal offenses charged are defined by statute, G.S. 14-322. By express language the abandonment and failure to support must be wilful to create criminal offenses. S. v. Hall, 251 N.C. 211, 110 S.E. 2d 868; S. v. Gibson, 245 N.C. 71, 95 S.E. 2d 125; S. v. Lucas, 242 N.C. 84, 86 S.E. 2d 770. The court, in charging the jury, made defendant’s guilt turn on the adequacy of the support provided without requiring a finding that defendant acted wilfully. This omission of an essential ingredient of the crime entitles defendant to a
New trial.
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack
122 S.E.2d 702, 255 N.C. 725, 1961 N.C. LEXIS 675, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-westmoreland-nc-1961.