Domestic Violence Law and Procedure

In getting ready for the North Carolina magistrates’ fall conference and a session that I’m teaching on issuing process in domestic violence cases, I began thinking about the ways that North Carolina criminal law addresses domestic violence. The North Carolina General Assembly has made numerous changes and additions in this area of criminal law, collected below. If I omitted some part of North Carolina criminal law involving domestic violence cases, please let me know. Crimes Involving Domestic Violence Several laws address crimes involving domestic relationships, although the relationship requirement varies. Some offenses require a romantic relationship of some kind. For example, domestic criminal trespass requires that the defendant trespass on premises occupied by the defendant’s present or former spouse or a person with whom the defendant lives or has lived as if married. Others incorporate the broader definition of “personal relationship” for obtaining a domestic violence protective order (DVPO) in G.S. 50B-1, as for the offense of assault in the presence of a minor. Some offenses do not require a specific relationship but were evidently enacted with relationship violence in mind, such as assault by strangulation under G.S. 14-32.4(b) and stalking under G.S. 14-277A. Although the latter statute does not require a specific relationship, it opens with the statement that the General Assembly “recognizes . . . the strong connections between stalking and domestic violence . . . .” The offenses requiring a specific relationship include: Domestic criminal trespass, G.S. 14-134.3 Simple, Class 1 misdemeanor Entry of safe house with deadly [...]