Criminal Justice (Violent Crime)

HB 109 reclassifies strangulation-related assaults in North Carolina by increasing penalties based on the severity of injury. It creates three felony tiers: a Class F felony for assaults causing serious bodily injury (like permanent disfigurement or coma), a Class H G felony for strangulation causing physical injury, and a Class H felony for any strangulation assault. The bill defines "serious bodily injury" and "strangulation" to clarify legal standards for prosecutors and courts. It applies to offenses committed on or after June 1, 2025, directly affecting individuals convicted of strangulation assaults.

HB 367 requires North Carolina's State Crime Laboratory to provide sexual assault victims with updates on the status of their examination kits. Victims will be notified if their kit cannot be tested, if testing is declined for reasons other than untestability, or if the kit is scheduled for destruction. The law mandates that the lab develop procedures for these notifications but specifies victims must provide and maintain current contact information. This law takes effect October 1, 2025, applying to all kits submitted before, on, or after that date.

SB 407 prohibits using someone's sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation - whether accurate or not - as a defense in homicide or assault cases in North Carolina. It amends Chapter 14 to explicitly state that such beliefs cannot be used to justify the crime or negate elements like malice in murder prosecutions. The bill applies only to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2025, and does not affect past cases. It clarifies that evidence about a victim's conduct may still be admitted if relevant and admissible under existing rules.

HB 497 prohibits defendants in North Carolina from using a victim's sexual orientation, gender identity, gender, or sex as a defense in homicide or assault cases. It bans arguments that the defendant's reaction to discovering or perceiving someone's LGBTQ+ identity justified the crime, whether the belief was true or not. The law applies to all such cases occurring on or after December 1, 2025, and does not affect prosecutions for offenses committed before that date. This changes court procedures by removing a specific legal argument that has been used to reduce charges in some cases involving LGBTQ+ victims.

HB 308 reclassifies strangulation as a Class H felony (up from Class G) and clarifies "serious bodily injury" to include permanent disfigurement or prolonged hospitalization. It clarifies that certain domestic violence misdemeanors cannot be treated as lesser offenses under related statutes and creates a new "habitual misdemeanor assault" offense for repeat offenders involving domestic violence. The bill prohibits expunging criminal records for individuals with pending charges and requires judges to review criminal history when setting pretrial release conditions in domestic violence cases. Judges must also impose specific conditions like staying away from victims' homes or abstaining from alcohol for those charged under domestic violence laws.