There are two classes of crime, felony and misdemeanor. In North Carolina, there are four categories of misdemeanors: (1) Class A1, which includes the most serious type misdemeanor crimes; (2) Class 1; (3) Class 2; and (4) Class 3, which include the least serious type of misdemeanor crimes.

Being charged with a Class 3 misdemeanor during a period of probation will not affect probation.

What are the different classes of Misdemeanors and what do they mean?

For each class of misdemeanor, a court can impose a range of sentences. Each range is further divided into three sets of punishment options, “Community”, “Intermediate”, and “Active”, which correspond to the criminal defendant’s prior conviction level, as explained in the chart below.

What do Active, Intermediate, and Community Punishments mean?

Punishment for misdemeanor convictions may be active, intermediate, or community punishment. Active punishments are jail sentences, while intermediate and community punishments allow the judges to impose alternate penalties.

Intermediate punishment is a sentence that places an offender on supervised probation. It may include drug treatment court, special probation, and one or more of the following conditions:

(1) House arrest with electronic monitoring;
(2) Perform community service and pay the fee prescribed by law for this supervision;
(3) Submission to a period or periods of confinement in a local confinement facility for a total    of no more than six days per month during any three separate months during the period of         probation. The six days per month confinement provided for in this subdivision may only be     imposed as two-day or three-day consecutive periods;
(4) Substance abuse assessment, monitoring, or treatment;
(5) Participation in an educational or vocational skills development program, including an           evidence-based program; or
(6) Submission to satellite-based monitoring.

Community punishment is a sentence that does not include an active punishment or assignment to a drug treatment court, or special probation. It may consist of a fine only or include any one or more of the conditions listed above under intermediate punishment. Community punishment could also consist of a fine only, which is the lowest punishment, or a combination of punishments.

What Fines are Associated with my Misdemeanor?

Any judgment that includes a sentence of imprisonment may also include a fine. If a community punishment is authorized, the judgment may consist of a fine only. Unless otherwise specified under a specific law, courts can impose up to the following maximum fines for misdemeanors:

Class A1: as much of the court deems appropriate
Class 1: as much as the court deems appropriate
Class 2: up to $1,000
Class 3: up to $200

Prior Record Levels:

As mentioned on the chart above, a person is assigned a prior record Level I if they have no prior criminal convictions, a Level II for 1-4 prior criminal convictions, and Level III for 5 or more prior criminal convictions.

Qualifying Prior Criminal Convictions

• Only one prior criminal conviction from a single session (generally, one day) of district court, or in a single week of superior court or court in another jurisdiction. For example, if someone is convicted of three charges in one session of district court, this counts as one prior conviction for purposes of prior conviction level
• Convictions in superior court, regardless of a pending appeal to the appellate division
• A prayer for judgment continued (PJC)
• A conviction resulting in a 90-96 probation, if it has not yet been dismissed
• Qualifying convictions count, regardless of when they arose (e.g., a 20-year-old conviction still counts)

The following prior convictions do not count towards your prior conviction level:

• Infractions (e.g., speeding)
• Contempt
• Juvenile adjudications
• District court convictions on appeal, or for which the time for appeal to superior court has not yet expired

Please feel free to contact us about any other misdemeanor sentencing related questions.