State v. Ward

BRYANT, Judge.

*254 Where defendant and defense counsel reached an impasse as to whether to cross-examine the State's witness on an issue of sample contamination, we affirm the trial court's ruling that it would be improper for the attorney to pursue a frivolous line of questioning. And where, as defendant concedes, our laws do not support a jury instruction for mistake of age or consent on facts such as these, we overrule defendant's argument.

On 15 July 2013, a Mecklenburg County grand jury indicted defendant Stephen Lamont Ward on two counts of statutory rape of a person thirteen, fourteen, or…