North Carolina § 15-1 - Statute of limitations for misdemeanors.

§ 15-1. Statute of limitations for misdemeanors.

The crimes of deceit and malicious mischief, and the crime of petit larceny where the value of the property does not exceed five dollars ($5.00), and all misdemeanors except malicious misdemeanors, shall be charged within two years after the commission of the same, and not afterwards: Provided, that if any pleading shall be defective, so that no judgment can be given thereon, another prosecution may be instituted for the same offense, within one year after the first shall have been abandoned by the State. Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the following misdemeanors shall be charged within 10 years of the commission of the crime: G.S. 7B-301(b). G.S. 14-27.33. G.S. 14-202.2. G.S. 14-318.2. G.S. 14-318.6. History (1826, c. 11; R.C., c. 35, s. 8; Code, s. 1177; Rev., s. 3147; 1907, c. 408; C.S., s. 4512; 1943, c. 543; 2017-57, s. 17.8.(a); 2017-212, s. 5.3; 2019-245, s. 2(a).) Cross References. - As to what are misdemeanors, see G.S. 14-1. As to punishment for misdemeanors, see G.S. 14-3. Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2017-57, s. 17.8(c), as added by Session Laws 2017-212, s. 5.3, made the amendment by 2017-57, s. 17.8(a), as added by Session Laws 2017-212, s. 5.3, effective December 1, 2017, and applicable to offenses committed on or after that date. Session Laws 2019-245, s. 9(b) provides: "Prosecutions for offenses committed before the effective date of this act are not abated or affected by this act, and the statutes that would be applicable but for this act remain applicable to those prosecutions." Session Laws 2019-245, s. 9(c), made subsection (b) of this section, as added by Session Laws 2019-245, s. 2(a), effective December 1, 2019, and applicable to offenses committed on or after that date. Session Laws 2019-245, s. 9(a), is a severability clause. Legal Periodicals. - For case law survey as to criminal law and procedure, see 44 N.C.L. Rev. 970 (1966); 45 N.C.L. Rev. 910 (1967). For survey of 1982 criminal law, see 61 N.C.L. Rev. 1060 (1983). For article, "An Equilibrium-Centric Interpretation of Restorative Justice and Examining Its Implementation Difficulties in America," see 35 Campbell L. Rev. 287 (2013). For article, "Is the White Collar Offender Privileged," see 63 Duke L. J. 823 (2014). For article, "Incorporating Collateral Consequences Into Criminal Procedure," see 54 Wake Forest L. Rev. 1 (2019). Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2017-57, s. 17.8(a), as added by Session Laws 2017-212, s. 5.3, substituted "shall be charged" for "shall be presented or found by the grand jury" near the middle; and substituted "any pleading" for "any indictment found within that time" near the beginning of the priviso. For effective date and applicability, see editor's note. Session Laws 2019-245, s. 2(a), designated the existing provision as subsection (a); and added subsection (b). For effective date and applicability, see editor's note.