Habitualized Sex Crimes

Suppose a defendant is convicted of a Class F–I felony that requires registration as a sex offender. He is also convicted as a habitual felon. When sentencing the defendant as a habitual felon, the court obviously will select a minimum sentence appropriate for an offense that is four classes higher than the underlying felony. But what maximum sentence should the court impose? Should it use the regular maximum sentence from G.S. 15A-1340.17(e), or the elevated sex offender maximum from subsection (f)? Under G.S. 15A-1340.17(f), “for offenders sentenced for a Class B1 through E felony that is a reportable conviction subject to the registration requirement of Article 27A,” the maximum sentence includes an extra 60 months instead of the typical 12. Today’s issue is whether a Class F–I sex crime elevated to Class E, D, or C under the habitual felon law in G.S. 14-7.6 is a “Class B1 through E felony that is a reportable conviction” covered by G.S. 15A-1340.17(f), or whether it is merely a lesser crime sentenced at Class E, D, or C under the habitual felon law, such that the regular maximum sentence rule should apply. No North Carolina appellate case addresses this issue directly, but it seems to me that the elevated maximum probably applies. We know from many, many appellate cases that being a habitual felon is a status, not a crime, State v. Allen, 292 N.C. 431 (1977), and that “[t]he status itself, standing alone, will not support a criminal sentence.” Id. at 435. To give a defendant [...]