North Carolina § 14-3 - Punishment of misdemeanors, infamous offenses, offenses committed in secrecy and malice, or with deceit and intent to defraud, or with ethnic animosity.

§ 14-3. Punishment of misdemeanors, infamous offenses, offenses committed in secrecy and malice, or with deceit and intent to defraud, or with ethnic animosity.

Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), every person who shall be convicted of any misdemeanor for which no specific classification and no specific punishment is prescribed by statute shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. Any misdemeanor that has a specific punishment, but is not assigned a classification by the General Assembly pursuant to law is classified as follows, based on the maximum punishment allowed by law for the offense as it existed on the effective date of Article 81B of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes: If that maximum punishment is more than six months imprisonment, it is a Class 1 misdemeanor; If that maximum punishment is more than 30 days but not more than six months imprisonment, it is a Class 2 misdemeanor; and If that maximum punishment is 30 days or less imprisonment or only a fine, it is a Class 3 misdemeanor. If a misdemeanor offense as to which no specific punishment is prescribed be infamous, done in secrecy and malice, or with deceit and intent to defraud, the offender shall, except where the offense is a conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor, be guilty of a Class H felony. If any Class 2 or Class 3 misdemeanor is committed because of the victim's race, color, religion, nationality, or country of origin, the offender shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. If any Class A1 or Class 1 misdemeanor offense is committed because of the victim's race, color, religion, nationality, or country of origin, the offender shall be guilty of a Class H felony. Misdemeanors that have punishments for one or more counties or cities pursuant to a local act of the General Assembly that are different from the generally applicable punishment are classified pursuant to this subsection if not otherwise specifically classified. History (R.C., c. 34, s. 120; Code, s. 1097; Rev., s. 3293; C.S., s. 4173; 1927, c. 1; 1967, c. 1251, s. 3; 1979, c. 760, s. 5; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1316, ss. 2, 47, 48; 1981, c. 63, s. 1; c. 179, s. 14; 1991, c. 702, s. 2; 1993, c. 538, s. 7; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 14, s. 2; c. 24, s. 14(b); 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 742, s. 6; 2008-197, s. 4.1.) Cross References. - As to uttering worthless checks, see G.S. 14-106 and 14-107. As to statute of limitations for misdemeanors, see G.S. 15-1 . Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2008-197, s. 4.1, effective December 1, 2008, and applicable to offenses committed on or after that date, substituted "Class H" for "Class I" in subsection (c). Legal Periodicals. - As to lack of clear test as to what constitutes infamous offense, see 28 N.C.L. Rev. 103 (1950). For case law survey as to excessive punishment, see 45 N.C.L. Rev. 910 (1967). For survey of 1982 law relating to criminal law, see 61 N.C.L. Rev. 1060 (1983). For note, "North Carolina County Jail Inmates' Right of Access to Courts," see 66 N.C.L. Rev. 583 (1988). Survey of Developments in North Carolina Law and the Fourth Circuit, 1999: Clarifying North Carolina's Ethnic Intimidation Statute and Penalty Enhancement for Bias Crimes, 78 N.C.L. Rev. 2003 (2000).