In 2007, legislative action designed to stiffen penalties for drivers charged with speeding followed close on the heels of the “Speed Unlimited” series published in the News and Observer in May 2007. Among the News and Observer’s findings was that, in 2006, only 19 percent of drivers ticketed for speeding at 100 mph or more were convicted as charged. For the year ending June 30, 2006, the newspaper reported that four of five speeding drivers had charges dismissed or reduced or were given a prayer for judgment continued. S.L. 2007-380 (S 925) addressed two of the more prominent issues raised in the newspaper’s report: pleas to improper equipment (an infraction) and the entry of prayers for judgment continued. For offenses committed on or after December 1, 2007, the act removed a violation of G.S. 20-123.2, the statute requiring that motor vehicles be equipped with a working speedometer, as a lesser included offense of charges of speeding in excess of 25 mph over the posted speed limit. It also enacted new G.S. 20-141(p), which barred the disposition of prayer for judgment continued for a driver charged with speeding more than 25 mph over the posted speed limit. The entry of a prayer for judgment continued (if the driver does not have other prayers for judgment continued within a certain time period) prevents a driver from suffering adverse collateral consequences for license and insurance purposes resulting from a speeding conviction or adjudication. Because, however, G.S. 20-141(p) refers to the offense with which a [...]
Faculty Coordinators
