Administration of Justice Bulletin #2007/03

The General Assembly passed three major acts affecting criminal law and procedure in 2006. One significantly expanded the obligations of and restrictions on individuals who are required to register as sex offenders. The second created a new commission to review claims of innocence by individuals who have been convicted of felonies. The third made sweeping changes to the state’s impaired driving laws. The first two acts, along with the many other acts passed in 2006 that affect criminal law and procedure, are discussed in the body of this bulletin. The impaired driving act is summarized in the attached paper by James C. Drennan. Each ratified act discussed here is identified by its chapter number in the session laws and by the number of the original bill. When an act creates new sections in the General Statutes (G.S.), the section number is given; however, the codifier of statutes may change that number
later. Copies of the bills may be viewed on the General Assembly’s website, http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/.