State v. Moose
Supreme Court of North Carolina
313 S.E.2d 507 (1984)
Moose (defendant) followed Kincaid and Connelly, pulled alongside them at a store parking lot, and shot and killed Connelly, who was Black, after becoming angry about Connelly's driving; Moose had been drinking all day and claimed the shooting was accidental. Other testimony revealed Moose's racial bias and anger toward Black people generally. A jury convicted Moose of first-degree murder, which required premeditation, and sentenced him to death; he appealed, arguing the evidence was insufficient given his intoxication and the short time span of events.
Whether a defendant can be found to have premeditated a murder when he was intoxicated and the events leading to the killing unfolded over a short period of time.