Relief from a Criminal Conviction (2023 Edition)
OFFENSE CLASS: If a statute allows relief for a conviction of a certain offense class, which offense class applies—the offense class in effect at the time of conviction or the offense class at the time of the petition for relief?
The statutes do not specifically say, but the General Assembly appears to have intended for the offense class at the time of conviction to control. This issue arises with G.S. 15A-145.4, which allows expunction of Class H and I felony convictions for offenses committed before age 18; G.S. 15A-145.5, which allows expunction of convictions of Class H and I felonies and Class 1, 2, or 3 misdemeanors; G.S. 15A-145.9, which allows expunctions of Class H and I felonies and any class of misdemeanor by human trafficking victims; and G.S. 15A-173.2, which allows a certificate of relief for convictions of Class G, H, and I felonies and any class of misdemeanor. Two main reasons support this conclusion.
First, the most natural reading of the statutes allowing relief for a conviction of a particular class of offense is to look at the offense class at the time of conviction. The reason is that the person’s conviction was for that class of offense. Second, when the General Assembly has wanted to depart from this approach and have the court look at the current offense class, it has expressly provided for that result. For the purpose of sentencing a person for a new offense, which depends in large part on a person’s prior record, “the classification of a prior offense is the classification assigned to that offense at the time the offense for which the offender is being sentenced is committed.” G.S. 15A-1340.14(c). None of the relief statutes contain this type of language. Its absence suggests that the General Assembly intended for the offense class of conviction to control.