on North Carolina Criminal Law Blog

As the Washington Post reports, the Senate confirmed Christopher A. Wray as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier this week.  Wray served as Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division of the Justice Department from 2003 to 2005.  At the Justice Department, Wray worked under former FBI director James Comey who was serving as Deputy Attorney General during that time.  Wray was confirmed with bipartisan support, and was sworn in by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday.  Keep reading for more news.

When determining a defendant’s prior record level for felony sentencing, prior convictions count for points according to their classification as of the offense date of the crime now being sentenced. G.S. 15A-1340.14(c). That law helps modernize a person’s record, treating it according to present-day classification standards as opposed to those that existed at the time of the prior offenses themselves. The rule can cut in either direction. If the offense class of the prior conviction has increased between the time of the prior and present offenses, the prior counts for points according to the higher offense class. If the offense class has decreased, the prior counts at its new, reduced level.

The rule is simple enough to apply when an offense classification for a single crime is ratcheted up or down. What do you do, though, when a person has a prior conviction for an offense that has since been split into multiple offenses with different classifications? A recent case gives some guidance.