Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
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State v. Bivins, COA23-550, ___ N.C. App. ___ (Mar. 19, 2024)
In this Cleveland County case, defendant petitioned for a writ of certiorari, arguing error in sentencing him at an inflated prior record level. The State conceded the error. The Court of Appeals vacated the judgment and remanded for resentencing with the appropriate prior record level.
In March of 2021, a jury convicted defendant of two charges related to controlled substances; after the verdict but before sentencing, defendant entered a plea agreement to two additional charges and attaining habitual felon status. During the sentencing hearing, the State submitted a worksheet showing sixteen points assigned to defendant based on his seven prior misdemeanors and three prior felonies, along with defendant being on probation at the time of the offenses. The court sentenced defendant as a level V offender.
Taking up defendant’s argument, the Court of Appeals explained that the trial court improperly calculated defendant’s prior record level, which should have been level IV. The State conceded that defendant was improperly assigned additional points based on previous convictions that should have been excluded. The court walked through the appropriate calculation, noting that the highest total that could be assigned to defendant was thirteen points, justifying level IV. As a result, the court remanded for resentencing.