North Carolina Hate Crime Laws

The federal government and North Carolina define the classes of protected victims differently. The FBI defines a hate crime as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.” Federal prosecution of bias-motivated conduct may occur under a variety of federal statutes, including:

• 18 U.S.C. § 241 – conspiracy to deprive another of federally-protected rights;
• 18 U.S.C. § 245 – violent interference with federally-protected rights;
• 42 U.S.C.§ 3631 – criminal interference with right to fair housing;
• 18 U.S.C. § 247 – Church Arson Prevention Act; and
• 18 U.S.C. § 249 – The Shepard Byrd Act.

Even if the federal government decides not to prosecute under a federal hate-crime statute, the defendant’s bias may still be used to impose an enhanced sentence under the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

North Carolina uses structured sentencing, meaning that the range of possible sentences for convicted offenders varies depending on the severity of the crime and the offender’s prior convictions. The severity of the crime is denoted by its class, represented by letters and numbers. Misdemeanor offenses are separated into four classes, A1, 1, 2, or 3, with A1 being the most serious. Felony offenses are classified by letters A to I, with A being the most serious.

Any Class 2 or Class 3 misdemeanor committed because of the victim’s race, color, religion, nationality or country of origin is elevated to a Class 1 misdemeanor. Likewise, any Class A1 or Class 1 misdemeanor committed because of the victim’s protected characteristic is elevated to a Class H felony, which carries a maximum punishment of 39 months. As a Class 1 misdemeanor, ethnic intimidation under Section 14-401.14(a) carries a maximum punishment of 120 days incarceration.

Felony sentencing also considers certain aggravating or mitigating factors, and North Carolina law allows a trial court to “aggravate” a sentence if the offense is motivated by bias. An aggravated sentence is selected from a higher range of permissible punishments thereby increasing the length of incarceration.