Misdemeanor Prior Conviction Level

For felony sentencing, a defendant’s criminal history is scored as a “prior record level.” The analogous measure for misdemeanor sentencing is “prior conviction level.” There are important differences between the two measures. There are three misdemeanor prior conviction levels. If a defendant has no prior convictions, he or she is Level I. Defendants with 1 to 4 prior convictions are Level II. And Defendants with five or more prior convictions are Level III. G.S. 15A-1340.21. Convictions are tallied as of the day judgment is entered for the crime being sentenced. G.S. 15A-1340.11(7). All prior felonies and misdemeanors count, and they all count equally. Unlike felony prior record level, misdemeanor prior conviction level does not give greater weight to a person’s more serious prior convictions. For misdemeanor sentencing purposes, a prior murder counts the same as a prior trespass: one prior conviction. Another difference from felony prior record level is that for misdemeanor sentencing, prior Class 2 and 3 misdemeanors are not excluded from a person’s record. They count. There is no exception for traffic offenses. Prior traffic convictions count toward misdemeanor prior conviction level. That’s different from felony prior record level, where only “nontraffic misdemeanor offense[s]” count (plus impaired driving, commercial impaired driving, and misdemeanor death by vehicle). G.S. 15A-1340.14(5). The “nontraffic” language in the felony sentencing law is expressly limited to its subsection, meaning it applies only to the definition of a prior misdemeanor for felony sentencing purposes. There is no such rule for prior misdemeanors for misdemeanor sentencing purposes, [...]