State v. McLamb

In State v. McLamb, 313 N.C. 572, 578, 330 S.E.2d 476, 480 (1985), the Supreme Court of North Carolina noted that it "has long held that the charge of conspiracy need not describe the subject crime with legal and technical accuracy, the charge being the crime of conspiracy and not the charge of committing the subject crime." Applying this principle, the McLamb Court stated: "Although we recognize that the sale and the delivery of controlled substances are separate offenses, we hold that the indictment in this case charges defendant with one offense: conspiring to sell or deliver -- i.e. transfer -- cocaine." Id. at 579, 330 S.E.2d at 481. As a result, a jury's verdict finding defendant guilty of "conspiring to sell or deliver cocaine" was not ambiguous. Id.