Legislatures demotes some misdemeanors

Students charged with certain misdemeanors in North Carolina might have to look outside the court system for legal guidance.

Last month, the N.C. General Assembly demoted many class 2 misdemeanors to class 3. The change in the law is estimated to save the state $2 million throughout the next fiscal year.

Now, people charged with small offenses will not face jail time. But since jail time is no longer an option, people will not have the right to state-appointed counsel, said John Rubin, a UNC law professor.

The change to the law — which will reduce attorney fees and cut the budget — will most affect people who are not able to afford a lawyer, he said.

Small charges include writing a bad check and many traffic violations, such as speeding 16 miles over the speed limit and driving without insurance.

David Crescenzo, a lawyer at Student Legal Services, said the policy shift will probably not change the outcome of the charges for students because students still have access to legal services on campus through Student Legal Services.

“We can answer their questions and explain exactly what they are looking at and suggest ways to handle it,” he said.

“While we don’t go to court to represent kids on those charges, 95 percent of the time, we can explain how to handle it on their own so that they don’t even need to get a lawyer or ask for a public defender.”

Crescenzo said the difference between a class 2 and class 3 misdemeanor is not significant.

“Unless it is a violent offense, a kid, on a first offense, can go to court alone and get the matter deferred,” he said.

But Rubin said the changes might have unintended consequences down the road.

Without the advice of a lawyer, many people might just pay a fine and then have a criminal conviction on their record, he said.

Crescenzo said a first-time misdemeanor, no matter the class, is typically something a student can handle without official representation.

“What we tell kids is that anybody can get in trouble once. It happens to anybody, and if we deal with it responsibly and proceed from there, it essentially doesn’t mean a lot,” Crescenzo said.

“Any subsequent offense though is a big red flag that the student may have problems, like irresponsibility. That is a red flag for grad programs or employers down the road.”

A female UNC student who wished to remain anonymous because her charges were dropped, said she was charged with improper backing after a hit and run accident and received a large fine.

“We hired a lawyer, and he sent papers that I had to sign over my rights and he went to court for me, so I never went to court at all. He got me out of it,” she said.

Without a lawyer, the student said she would have pleaded guilty, paid the fine and watched her insurance go up.

“I think that’s really bad because I would not have known what to do,” she said.

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