Articles in the Sentencing category

Under G.S. 15A-1340.14(b)(6), an additional sentencing point applies “[i]f all the elements of the present offense are included in any prior offense for which the offender was convicted, whether or […]

Today’s post addresses a small (and admittedly mundane) thing that trips people up from time to time. What happens when an appealed probationary sentence comes back to the trial court […]

There are two different types of probation extensions. They are set out in different statutes. And they can be confusing. Ordinary extensions. Under G.S. 15A-1344(d), probation may be extended at […]

Probation records are privileged. That protection stems from an old statute, G.S. 15-207, which was enacted in 1937—the same year the original North Carolina Probation Commission was established. See N.C. […]

Some guilty pleas are “open,” where the defendant pleads guilty to agreed-upon charges without any promises from the State about the ultimate sentence. Other pleas include an arrangement as to […]

In 2018, I wrote this post, https://nccriminallaw.sog.unc.edu/2018/11/28/total-split-sentence-exposure/, about split sentences, examining the total limit on split sentence incarceration that a judge can order at sentencing and as a later modification […]

This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Supreme Court released on March 20, 2026. Circumstantial evidence was sufficient to submit robbery with a dangerous weapon to […]

It’s been a while since I last posted an updated flow chart for sex offender registration and satellite-based monitoring (SBM). In the past I tried to cram the entire thing […]

Some states have passed laws authorizing judges to review sentences after a defendant has served a specified portion of the sentence. They are sometimes referred to as “second look” laws. A bill proposing a second-look procedure was filed in the General Assembly in 2025, but it was referred to committee and never enacted. See House Bill 589. Nevertheless, judges around the state are receiving dozens of motions for appropriate relief filed under authority of “The Second Look Act” as though it became law. To be clear, no such law was enacted, and motions premised solely on that theory lack a legal basis.

As 2025 came to a close, the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission published the Driving While Impaired Convictions Statistical Report for Fiscal Year 2024 (hereinafter “the report”). The […]