Do the Mandatory Minimum Drug Trafficking Fines Apply to Trafficking Defendants Convicted as Habitual Felons?

Recently, I was teaching a class about the habitual felon laws when a participant asked a question that I had never considered. We know that a defendant convicted of drug trafficking may be convicted as a habitual felon, and when that happens, the defendant’s term of imprisonment is determined under Structured Sentencing based on the elevated offense class set forth in the habitual felon statutes, not based on the mandatory term of imprisonment set forth in the trafficking statute. But what about the mandatory minimum fine listed in the trafficking statute? Must that be imposed, or is the defendant “habitualized out” of all the sentencing-related provisions of the trafficking laws? Apparently, this issue comes up regularly in practice. More detail. When a defendant is convicted of drug trafficking, he or she normally is sentenced under the trafficking-specific provisions contained in G.S. 90-95(h). The trafficking laws contain both mandatory prison sentences and mandatory minimum fines for various trafficking offenses. For example, trafficking in 10,000 pounds or more of marijuana is a Class D felony that requires a prison sentence of “a minimum term of 175 months and a maximum term of 222 months,” plus a fine of “not less than $200,000.” When a trafficking defendant is also convicted of being a habitual felon, his or her term of imprisonment is determined under Structured Sentencing, not under the trafficking statutes. See State v. Eaton, 210 N.C. App. 142 (2011) (so holding). The defendant is sentenced “at a felony class level that is four [...]