North Carolina General Statutes 15A-151.5. Prosecutor access to expunged files
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall make all confidential files maintained under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-151 electronically available to all prosecutors of this State if the criminal record was expunged on or after July 1, 2018, under any of the following:
(1) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-145 Expunction of records for first offenders under the age of 18 at the time of conviction of misdemeanor; expunction of certain other misdemeanors.
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 15A-151.5
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Entered: means signed and filed in the office of the clerk of superior court of the county in which the document is to be entered. See North Carolina General Statutes 15A-101.1
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
(2) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-145.1 Expunction of records for first offenders under the age of 18 at the time of conviction of certain gang offenses.
(3) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-145.2 Expunction of records for first offenders not over 21 years of age at the time of the offense of certain drug offenses.
(4) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-145.3 Expunction of records for first offenders not over 21 years of age at the time of the offense of certain toxic vapors offenses.
(5) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-145.4 Expunction of records for first offenders who are under 18 years of age at the time of the commission of a nonviolent felony.
(6) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-145.5 Expunction of certain misdemeanors and felonies; no age limitation.
(7) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-145.6 Expunctions for certain defendants convicted of prostitution.
(7a) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-145.7 Expunction of records for first offenders under 20 years of age at the time of the offense of certain offenses.
(7b) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-145.8A. Expunction of records for offenders under the age of 18 at the time of commission of certain misdemeanors and felonies upon completion of the sentence.
(7c) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-145.9 Expunction of records of certain offenses committed by human trafficking victims.
(8) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-146(a). Expunction of records when charges are dismissed.
(9) N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-146(a1). Expunction of records when charges are dismissed.
(b) For any expungement granted on or after July 1, 2018, the record of a criminal conviction expunged under subdivisions (1) through (7b) of subsection (a) of this section may be considered a prior conviction and used for any of the following purposes:
(1) To calculate prior record level and prior conviction level if the named person is convicted of a subsequent criminal offense.
(2) To serve as a basis for indictment for a habitual offense pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-7.1 or N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-7.26
(3) When a conviction of a prior offense raises the offense level of a subsequent offense.
(4) To determine eligibility for relief under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-96(a).
(5) When permissible in a criminal case under Rule 404(b) or Rule 609 of the North Carolina Rules of Evidence.
(c) For any expungement granted on or after July 1, 2018, the information maintained by the Administrative Office of the Courts, and made available under subsection (a) of this section, is prima facie evidence of the expunged conviction for the purposes provided in subsection (b) of this section and is admissible into evidence. The expungement of a conviction shall not serve as a basis to challenge a conviction or sentence entered before the expungement of that conviction.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall make all records of dismissals pursuant to conditional discharge maintained under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-151 electronically available to all prosecutors of this State. (2017-195, s. 1; 2019-158, s. 4(c); 2020-35, s. 2(a); 2020-69, s. 8(a), (b); 2020-78, s. 10.1(a), (b); 2021-88, s. 3; 2021-118, s. 4.)