GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	1 

SENATE BILL 922

Short Title:  Amend Habitual Felon Law.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Senators Odom; and Winner.

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Referred to:  Judiciary.

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April 17, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT A JUDGE RATHER THAN A JURY SHALL DETERMINE WHETHER A PERSON IS AN HABITUAL FELON OR A VIOLENT HABITUAL FELON.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 14-7.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-7.1. Habitual felons.
(a)	Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1)	Convicted or conviction. – The terms include offenses for which a person was adjudged guilty and offenses to which a person entered a plea of guilty or no contest.
(2)	Felony. – An offense that is a felony under the laws of this State, another state, the federal government, or that is classified as a felony under G.S. 15A-1340.14(e).  The term does not include federal offenses relating to the manufacture, possession, sale of, and kindred offenses involving intoxicating liquors. The term includes only offenses of which a person was convicted.
		For purposes of this Article, the following are not felonies:  (i) convictions of felonies before July 6, 1967, and (ii) a felony to which a pardon has been extended.  The burden of proving the pardon shall rest with the defendant; the State is not required to disprove a pardon.
(3)	Habitual felon. – A person who has been convicted of three felonies in any federal court or state court in the United States or a combination of those courts.
		For the purposes of this Article, felonies committed before a person attains the age of 18 years shall not constitute more than one felony. The commission of a second felony shall not fall within the purview of this Article unless it is committed after the conviction of or plea of guilty to the first felony. The commission of a third felony shall not fall within the purview of this Article unless it is committed after the conviction of or plea of guilty to the second felony.
(b)	Sentencing of Habitual Felons. – Before sentencing a person convicted of a felony who was also indicted as an habitual felon, the judge shall determine whether the person is an habitual felon.  Proof of prior convictions to establish a person's habitual felon status shall be in accordance with G.S. 15A-1340.14.  The three most recent prior felony convictions, subject to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section, shall be used to establish a person's habitual felon status. If the judge finds that the person is an habitual felon, the court shall sentence the person as a Class C felon under G.S. 15A-1340.13, unless the person is convicted of a Class A, B1, or B2 felony.
The punishment shall be as provided in G.S. 15A-1340.17.  In determining the prior record level of the person, the convictions used to establish the person's status as an habitual felon shall not be used, but all other prior convictions shall be used in determining the prior record as provided in G.S. 15A-1340.14.  A sentence imposed on an habitual felon pursuant to this section shall run consecutively with and shall begin at the expiration of any sentence being served by the habitual felon."
Section 2.  G.S. 14-7.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-7.3.  Charge of habitual felon.
An indictment which charges a person who is an habitual felon within the meaning of G.S. 14-7.1 with the commission of any felony must, in order to sustain a conviction of habitual felon, also charge that the person is an habitual felon. An indictment which charges a person with being an habitual felon must set forth the date that prior felony offenses were committed, the name of the state or other sovereign against whom said felony offenses were committed, the dates that pleas of guilty were entered to or convictions returned in said felony offenses, and the identity of the court wherein said pleas or convictions took place. No defendant charged with being an habitual felon in a bill of indictment shall be required to go to trial on said charge within 20 days of the finding of a true bill by the grand jury; provided, the defendant may waive this 20-day period."
Section 3.  G.S. 14-7.7 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-7.7.  Violent habitual felons.
	" 	" 			(a)	Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1)	Convicted or conviction. – The terms include offenses for which a person was adjudged guilty and offenses to which a person entered a plea of guilty or no contest.
(2)	Violent felony. – The term does not include conviction as a violent felon or conviction as an habitual felon.  The term does not include a felony to which a pardon has been extended.  The burden of proving a pardon shall rest with the defendant, and this State shall not be required to disprove a pardon.
		The term does include the following offenses:
a.	All Class A through E felonies.
b.	Any repealed or superseded offense substantially equivalent to the offenses listed in sub-subdivision a. of this subdivision.
c.	Any offense committed in another jurisdiction substantially equivalent to the offenses set forth in sub-subdivision a. or b. of this subdivision.
(3)	Violent habitual felon. – Any person who has been convicted of two violent felonies in any federal court, in a court of this or any other state of the United States, or in a combination of these courts. This Article does not apply to a second violent felony unless it is committed after the conviction to the first violent felony.
(b)	Sentencing of Violent Habitual Felons. – Before sentencing a person convicted of a violent felony who was also indicted as a violent habitual felon, the judge shall determine whether the person is a violent habitual felon.  If the judge finds that the person is a violent habitual felon, then the judge shall sentence the person to life imprisonment without parole, unless the person is convicted of first degree murder and the death penalty is imposed.
Proof of prior convictions to establish a person's habitual felon status shall be in accordance with G.S. 15A-1340.14.  The two most recent prior felony convictions, subject to subdivision (2)	of subsection (a) of this section, shall be used to establish a person's violent habitual felon status.  Sentences for violent habitual felons imposed under this Article shall run consecutively with and shall commence at the expiration of any other sentence being served by the person."
Section 4.  G.S. 14-7.9 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-7.9.  Charge of violent habitual felon.
An indictment that charges a person who is a violent habitual felon within the meaning of G.S. 14-7.7 with the commission of any violent felony must, in order to sustain a conviction of violent habitual felon, also charge that the person is a violent habitual felon.  An indictment that charges a person with being a violent habitual felon must set forth the date that prior violent felonies were committed, the name of the state or other sovereign against whom the violent felonies were committed, the dates of convictions of the violent felonies, and the identity of the court in which the convictions took place.  A defendant charged with being a violent habitual felon in a bill of indictment shall not be required to go to trial on that charge within 20 days after the finding of a true bill by the grand jury unless the defendant waives this 20-day period."
Section 5.   The following sections are repealed:
G.S. 14-7.2, 14-7.4, 14-7.5, 14-7.6, 14-7.8, 14-7.10, 14-7.11, and 14-7.12.
Section 6.  This act becomes effective December 1, 1997, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.