Today is December 1st, and there are a number of changes to the law in NC taking place that you need to be aware of.
There are changes to sentencing for sneaking cell phones into prison and also stealing Venus flytraps. Both are now felonies.
NC has also finally joined the other 49 states and now allows a defendant to choose to waive a jury trial and opt for a judge instead.
WRAL has a detailed breakdown of the laws effective today:
WAIVING JURY TRIALS
The constitutional amendment gives criminal defendants the right to decline a jury trial and have a judge decide their case instead. Defendants have this option in 49 other states and the federal criminal justice system, but North Carolina defendants previously couldn’t waive the jury trial. The judge would have to agree to allow a bench trial, and the option wouldn’t be available in a death penalty case.
A report over the summer by the UNC School of Government said bench trials tend to be shorter and less expensive than jury trials, but changing the system could concentrate power with judges and reduce citizen participation in the justice system.
BB GUNS
Children under 12 in eight counties — Anson, Caswell, Chowan, Cleveland, Cumberland, Harnett, Stanly and Surry — will be allowed to possess and use BB guns, air rifles and air pistols without adult supervision. Most counties already allowed such unsupervised use, but a few remained on a list where BB and air guns were defined as dangerous firearms. Counties where supervision is still required include Caldwell, Durham, Forsyth, Gaston, Haywood, Mecklenburg, Stokes, Union and Vance.
PROTECTING VENUS FLYTRAPS
A provision of the Regulatory Reform Act boosts the penalty for taking a Venus flytrap from a misdemeanor to a felony. Legislators said earlier this year that conservation groups asked for the stiffer charge after recent thefts of the plants in eastern North Carolina, which is among the few areas where the plant grows native.
CONCEALED GUNS
Under legislation to change criminal laws, people caught multiple times carrying a concealed firearm without a permit will face felony charges for the second and subsequent offenses. The first such offense remains a misdemeanor.
INMATE CELLPHONES
Another provision increases the penalty for giving or selling a cellphone to an inmate from a misdemeanor to a felony. It also makes it a felony for an inmate to possess a cellphone. Gov. Pat McCrory and other leaders pushed for stiffer penalties after the father of a Wake County prosecutor was kidnapped in a plot authorities say was directed by an inmate using a contraband cell phone. The kidnapped man was rescued by the FBI.
