Where can I find the definition of a North Carolina crime?

Recently questions came to me and my SOG criminal law colleagues about the crime of burglary in North Carolina that made it clear some readers would benefit from a discussion of statutory versus common law definitions of criminal offenses, as well as how to research legislative history. I will address these two issues using one scenario across a couple of blog posts. I hope these posts will help in interpreting and understanding statutes. The inquiry we received pointed to North Carolina General Statute Section 14-51, reproduced below. Based on reading this statute, the inquirer said something like this: “The statute doesn’t include the element of ‘at night’ that I thought was an element of burglary. Aren’t all the elements of the offenses of first and second degree burglary listed in this statute? Since that element isn’t listed here, when did the legislature remove the element of ‘at night’ from the offense of burglary? I’ve searched the session laws and the NC Criminal Law blog and can’t find it. Please help.” First, good reader, let’s be clear, the General Assembly has NOT—I repeat—has NOT removed the element of “at night” from proof of first or second degree burglary. I will address the issue of the elements of this crime and where to find them in this blog post. In a follow-up post, I’ll discuss how to research when the legislature has amended a criminal statute. What’s an “element?” Criminal law scholars and practitioners have come to call the various facts that must [...]