Porter v. State
Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
580 So. 2d 823 (1990)
- Written by Sara Rhee, JD
Facts
Charlotte Porter (defendant) and her husband, Darrell Porter, were jointly indicted for possession of cocaine but tried separately. Officers had discovered a plastic bag of cocaine on a shelf in Charlotte’s bedroom closet, as well as evidence that cocaine was being sold from her premises. At the time, Charlotte was separated from Darrell. Charlotte lived alone at her residence, although Darrell paid the rent. At trial, upon being asked whether the cocaine belonged to him, Darrell invoked his rights under the Fifth Amendment. Charlotte was convicted. Charlotte thereafter appealed, arguing that the trial court erred by instructing the jury that she could be convicted of accomplice liability for failing to prevent the commission of an offense if she had a legal duty to do so.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Patterson, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,400 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
