This legislative session the General Assembly authorized cities and counties to use automated traffic cameras and speed sensors to enforce speed limits in school zones. Enforcement of traffic laws through electronic means is not new to North Carolina; some local governments already use automated cameras to cite drivers who run red lights or pass stopped school buses. And more than 20 years ago, S.L. 2003-280 (H 562) authorized the City of Charlotte to use photographic speed-measuring systems during a three-year pilot program. Several other states, including Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Minnesota, and Washington, already use automated cameras and sensors to detect and sanction speeding. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration lists speed safety camera enforcement as an effective countermeasure to reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries, and researchers reported that the brief use of such systems in the Charlotte pilot program appeared “to have a positive effect on collisions and speed conformity.” This post will review the most recent North Carolina legislation, chaptered in S.L. 2025-47 (S 391), and consider questions that may arise for local governments interested in exercising this authority.
New Legislation
Three Updates to DWI Sentencing since 2018
We are putting the final touches on the new edition of the North Carolina Sentencing Handbook – publication date forthcoming! As part of revising and updating the DWI Sentencing portion, three updates stood out to me as warranting some more discussion. First, the legislature has expanded delegated authority for probation officers to include probationers sentenced for impaired driving under G.S. 20-179. Second, the Court of Appeals further clarified the presumption for unsupervised probation and requirements for transferring a probationer from supervised to unsupervised probation. Third, a new mitigating factor was added for voluntary pretrial installation of an ignition interlock device. Read on for more details.
Laws Taking Effect October 1
The North Carolina General Assembly has been quite busy this session. This year’s legislative updates span a range of topics within the world of criminal and motor vehicle law. Summaries of those enactments will be published on the School of Government website once the General Assembly adjourns for the session. For now, I’ll use this post to highlight the laws taking effect tomorrow, October 1, 2025.
Recent Legislative Changes Affecting Judicial Authority and Administration
House Bill 620, chaptered as S.L. 2025-54, enacted several changes affecting judicial authority and administration that may be of interest to practitioners generally. This post will review the legislation’s provisions affecting removal proceedings, the jurisdiction of specially assigned superior court judges, substitution of one trial judge for another, age limits for service as a trial judge, protocols for recovery courts, the disclosure of courtroom audio recordings, training and educational materials for jurors, and the appointment of magistrates.
2024 Criminal Legislative Summaries
[Editor’s note: The legislative summaries linked in this post were updated on December 12, 2024, to reflect legislation enacted after this post first appeared.] Looking for some interesting topics to discuss over Thanksgiving dinner? The criminal summaries for this legislative session are now available and can be accessed here.
Short Stop in the Short Session
The North Carolina General Assembly has temporarily adjourned for the short session, with plans to reconvene a few more times throughout the remainder of the year. So far in 2024, a handful of bills have been enacted that affect criminal law and procedure. One of these bills includes laws that have already taken effect, summarized in this post. Listed at the end of this post are brief highlights of other noteworthy enactments.