North Carolina Acts of the 2022 Regular Session (2022)
HB 607, SL 47
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2021
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES AFFECTING THE NORTH CAROLINA COURT SYSTEM.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
EXPUNCTION CHANGES
SECTION 1.(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 15A-146(a4), dismissed charges and not guilty verdicts shall not be expunged by operation of law and the Administrative Office of the Courts shall immediately cease all procedures related to the automatic expunction of dismissed charges, not guilty verdicts, and findings of not responsible. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall maintain a record of any dismissed charges, not guilty verdicts, and findings of not responsible that, except for the provisions of this section, would be automatically expunged pursuant to G.S. 15A-146(a4) in a manner that will allow those cases to be automatically expunged when this section expires.
SECTION 1.(b) This section becomes effective August 1, 2022, and expires August 1, 2023.
SECTION 2.(a) The Administrative Office of the Courts shall convene a group of stakeholders, including representatives from the Conference of District Attorneys, the State Bureau of Investigation, the NC Justice Center, attorneys who represent clients seeking expunctions, clerks and other court personnel, sheriffs, the Division of Motor Vehicles, and individuals with criminal records who are members of the NC Second Chance Alliance to examine and make recommendations to resolve the issues that have arisen with the implementation of G.S. 15A-146(a4), including issues related to notice to all relevant agencies and file retention. The stakeholder group may consider and recommend solutions for issues related to the expunction of records that do not require the total destruction of all court files and that would allow access to these particular expunction records by additional parties.
The Administrative Office of the Courts shall report its findings and recommendations and any action it has taken to make files confidential to the chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on Justice and Public Safety no later than March 1, 2023.
SECTION 2.(b) If the Administrative Office of the Courts and stakeholder group established in subsection (a) of this section determine an appropriate method to make court files for dismissed charges, not guilty verdicts, and findings of not responsible that are eligible for automatic expunction pursuant to G.S. 15A-146(a4) confidential from the public record without destruction of court files, while allowing access to necessary parties, the Administrative Office of the Courts is authorized to make those files confidential from the public record while Section 1 of this act remains law. If the Administrative Office of the Courts makes files confidential from the public record pursuant to this section, it shall do so for all files suspended from expunction by Section 1 of this act. This authorization is not an authorization to expunge any records described by G.S. 15A-146(a4) while Section 1 of this act remains law.
SECTION 2.(c) When Section 1 of this act expires or is repealed, whichever occurs first, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall, within 180 days, expunge all dismissed charges, not guilty verdicts, and findings of not responsible that occurred during the period of time that Section 1 of this act was in effect and are eligible for automatic expunction pursuant to G.S. 15A-146(a4).
SECTION 3.(a) G.S. 15A-145.5 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15A-145.5. Expunction of certain misdemeanors and felonies; no age limitation.
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(c2) The court, after hearing a petition for expunction of one or more nonviolent misdemeanors, shall order that the petitioner be restored, in the contemplation of the law, to the status the petitioner occupied before the arrest or indictment or information, except as provided in G.S. 15A-151.5, if the court finds all of the following:
(1) One of the following:
a. The petitioner has not previously been granted an expunction under this section for one or more nonviolent misdemeanors.
b. Any previous expunction granted to the petitioner under this section for one or more nonviolent misdemeanors was granted pursuant to a petition filed prior to December 1, 2021.
(2) The petitioner is of good moral character.
(3) The petitioner has no outstanding warrants or pending criminal cases.
(4) The petitioner has no other felony or misdemeanor convictions, other than a traffic violation not listed in the petition for expunction, during the applicable five-year or seven-year waiting period set forth in subsection (c) of this section.
(5) The petitioner has no outstanding restitution orders or civil judgments representing amounts ordered for restitution entered against the petitioner.
(6) The petitioner meets one of the following criteria:
a. For a petition for expunction of one nonviolent misdemeanor, the petitioner has no convictions for any other felony or misdemeanor, other than a traffic offense.
b. For a petition for expunction of more than one nonviolent misdemeanor, the petitioner has no convictions for a misdemeanor or felony that is listed as an exception to the terms "nonviolent misdemeanor" or "nonviolent felony" as provided in subsection (a) of this section.
(7) The petitioner was convicted of an offense or offenses eligible for expunction under this section.
(8) The petitioner has completed the applicable five-year or seven-year waiting period set forth in subsection (c) of this section.
If the court denies the petition, the order shall include a finding as to the reason for the denial.
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(c4) A person petitioning for expunction of multiple convictions pursuant to sub-subdivision b. of subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section or sub-subdivision b. of subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of this section, where the convictions were obtained in more than one county, shall file a petition in each county of conviction. All petitions shall be filed within a 30-day 120-day period. The granting of one petition shall not preclude the granting of any other petition filed within the same 30-day 120-day period. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, upon good cause shown for the failure to file a petition within the 120-day period, the court may grant a petition for expunction filed outside the 120-day period.
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SECTION 3.(b) This section becomes effective August 1, 2022, and applies to petitions filed on or after that date.
MAGISTRATE AUTHORITY WHEN CLERK'S OFFICE IS CLOSED
SECTION 4.(a) G.S. 50B-2(c1) reads as rewritten:
"(c1) Ex Parte Orders by Authorized Magistrate. - The chief district court judge may authorize a magistrate or magistrates to hear any motions for emergency relief ex parte. Prior to the hearing, if the magistrate determines that at the time the party is seeking emergency relief ex parte the district court is not in session and a district court judge is not and will not be available to hear the motion for a period of four or more hours, the motion may be heard by the magistrate. When the office of the clerk is closed and a magistrate has been authorized under this section to hear a motion for emergency relief ex parte, an authorized magistrate shall accept for filing a complaint alleging domestic violence and motion for emergency relief ex parte, note thereon the filing date, and the magistrate shall issue a summons. Any endorsement or alias and pluries summons pursuant to G.S. 1A-1, Rule 4(d) shall be issued by the clerk, assistant clerk, or deputy clerk of the court in the county in which the action is commenced. Any complaint and motion for emergency relief ex parte and any other documents accepted for filing under this section and any order entered by the magistrate shall be delivered to the clerk's office for processing as soon as that office is open for business. If it clearly appears to the magistrate from specific facts shown that there is a danger of acts of domestic violence against the aggrieved party or a minor child, the magistrate may enter orders as it deems necessary to protect the aggrieved party or minor children from those acts, except that a temporary order for custody ex parte and prior to service of process and notice shall not be entered unless the magistrate finds that the child is exposed to a substantial risk of physical or emotional injury or sexual abuse. If the magistrate finds that the child is exposed to a substantial risk of physical or emotional injury or sexual abuse, upon request of the aggrieved party, the magistrate shall consider and may order the other party to stay away from a minor child, or to return a minor child to, or not remove a minor child from, the physical care of a parent or person in loco parentis, if the magistrate finds that the order is in the best interest of the minor child and is necessary for the safety of the minor child. If the magistrate determines that it is in the best interest of the minor child for the other party to have contact with the minor child or children, the magistrate shall issue an order designed to protect the safety and well-being of the minor child and the aggrieved party. The order shall specify the terms of contact between the other party and the minor child and may include a specific schedule of time and location of exchange of the minor child, supervision by a third party or supervised visitation center, and any other conditions that will ensure both the well-being of the minor child and the aggrieved party. An ex parte order entered under this subsection shall expire and the magistrate shall schedule an ex parte hearing before a district court judge by the end of the next day on which the district court is in session in the county in which the action was filed. Ex parte orders entered by the district court judge pursuant to this subsection shall be entered and scheduled in accordance with...
