New Structured Sentencing Handbook

From 1995 to 2009, North Carolina had two sentencing grids—one for felonies, one for misdemeanors. That was it. Then the grid was amended in 2009. And 2011 (with special rules for sex offenders). And 2013, for both felonies and misdemeanors. Because you should always use the grid that was in place when the defendant committed his or her crime—and there’s no flexibility on that, by the way, State v. Lee, __ N.C. App. __, 745 S.E.2d 73 (2013)—you need to have all the grids handy. With that in mind, a new publication, the North Carolina Structured Sentencing Handbook with Felony and Misdemeanor Sentencing Grids, is available for purchase from the School of Government bookstore. It includes all the grids back to 1994, presented in a refreshed design and color scheme that we hope will be helpful. (I sent out a picture of the page proofs sitting on my kitchen table if you want to preview the new look.) In addition to the grids themselves, the handbook includes instructions on how to use them. Here’s Step 1: To the extent possible the instructions are presented in a quick-reference format suitable for use in court. For instance, the section on how to calculate a defendant’s prior record level includes this table of rules for what counts for points and what doesn’t. The instructions also address other topics including: Drug trafficking Fines, costs, and fees Restitution How to sentence multiple convictions Jail credit Deferrals (deferred prosecution, PJC, and G.S. 90-96) And there are lots [...]