Case Summaries: N.C. Court of Appeals (Jan. 7, 2020)

This post summarizes published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals decided yesterday, Jan. 7, 2020. Where defendant did not stipulate to her prior record level and the State presented no evidence beyond the prior record level worksheet, the State did not meet its burden of proving the defendant’s record level State v. Braswell, ___ N.C. App. ___; ___ S.E.2d ___ (Jan. 7, 2020). The defendant pled guilty to various offenses in Wilson County and the State offered a prior record level (“PRL”) worksheet alleging 12 points, making her a Level IV for felony sentencing purposes. The defendant did not expressly stipulate to the prior convictions and neither she nor her attorney signed the worksheet. The trial court sentenced the defendant as a record level IV without objection. The court then adjourned immediately without asking the parties if they wished to be heard. The defendant appealed, complaining that the State failed to prove her prior record level by a preponderance of the evidence. The Court of Appeals granted certiorari and reversed. While the defendant did not object at sentencing, an error in prior record level calculation is automatically preserved under G.S. 15A-1444(a2)(1). A bare prior record level worksheet is insufficient to establish the defendant’s criminal record by a preponderance of the evidence, but “an explicit stipulation is not necessary for the State to carry its burden.” Slip op. at 6. The court reviewed precedent regarding when and how the State meets its burden to prove prior record level. Where [...]