New Criminal Laws in North Carolina for 2020
Each new year almost always brings about a handful of changes to the North Carolina law books, and 2020 is no exception.
More than 18 new laws have gone into effect in the state of North Carolina as of January 1, 2020 – but there are a couple of specific laws that North Carolina citizens are going to want to make sure that they are aware of ASAP. If assistance is ever needed in California, DUI Attorney San Diego can assist.
Implementation of Real ID Cards
As of October 2020, every single individual that wants to board an airplane in the United States – even for domestic travel – will have to present a Real ID compliant driver’s license, US passport, or military identification card to be able to board the plane, according to car accident lawyer Sacramento CA.
A number of states throughout the US are doing away with traditional identification cards and driver’s licenses in favor of this new Real ID standard, and while there aren’t any criminal penalties for not switching to this standard you’ll want to make sure that you get your hands on Real IDs before you plan any air travel.
Raise the Age Law Has Been Revised
North Carolina has had a “Raise the Age” law on the books for quite a while now, giving prosecutors and police officers the opportunity to charge 16 and 17-year-old individuals as adults even if they were accused of nonviolent crimes.
As of January 1, 2020, however, North Carolina has decided to rollback this change completely. 16 and 17-year-old individuals are no longer going to be able to be charged as adults if they are accused of committing nonviolent crimes. This change does not impact those that have been charged with violent crimes, however.
New Death by Distribution Law
North Carolina has been hit hard by the nationwide opioid epidemic in the state legislature is looking for ways to curb this problem ASAP.
The state now makes it possible for drug dealers that sell opioids to individuals that overdose to be charged with more significant crimes, including death by distribution, crimes that can carry minimum penalties of several years in prison even if prosecutors are unable to prove that dealers acted with malice.
This is a major change in the way that drug dealers were charged and prosecuted in the past, even if they were closely linked to providing drugs to individuals that overdosed previously. These new laws give police officers and prosecutors a lot more “teeth” to go directly after individuals that choose to flood North Carolina with opioids – and hopefully provide more of a deterrent for those that are considering getting into this kind of drug distribution activity moving forward. They also potentially can lead to an increase in civil lawsuits, according to San Rafael Motorcycle Accident Attorney.
As we highlighted above, there are a number of other new criminal laws on the books in North Carolina that citizens are going to want to be aware of. These changes barely begins to scratch the surface of the new laws that could carry criminal penalties in the state of North Carolina that may not have had the same kind of criminal penalties in the past (if any penalties at all).