State v. LeDuc

EXUM, Justice.

In this appeal the state challenges the holding of the Court of Appeals, upon which it ordered a new trial, that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence a boat charter agreement having a signature, “Milan LeDuc” affixed as “charterer,” and then permitting the jury to compare known samples of defendant’s handwriting with the signature on the charter agreement without the aid of competent opinion testimony.

The Court of Appeals interpreted G.S. 8-40, which deals with “proof of handwriting by comparison,” and our rules of evidence, to prohibit handwriting comparisons by a…