Posted on 12/01/2003 8:14:32 PM PST by Libloather
N.C. laws aim to protect consumers, register criminals, stiffen penalties
Monday, December 1, 2003 12:00AM EST
By AMY GARDNER, Staff Writer
Tougher criminal penalties and a handful of consumer protections are sprinkled among the new laws that take effect today in North Carolina.
On the criminal side, a new law prohibits a person under a domestic violence protective order from purchasing a firearm, in some cases, as long as the order is in effect. A violation would be a felony.
Another law creates a specific criminal offense for the practice of rebirthing, the controversial therapy in which a child is wrapped in blankets and sheets and forced to re-enact the birthing process.
The statute, which applies whether or not a person is injured, results from the suffocation death of 10-year-old Candace Newmaker of Durham during a rebirthing session in Colorado in 2000. The new law makes anyone who practices rebirthing guilty of a misdemeanor. A second offense would be a low-level felony.
Another new law adds school resource officers to the list of school personnel subject to felony charges for sex acts with students, no matter the age difference. Teachers, administrators and coaches were already included.
The state will take DNA samples from more criminals than ever. Now, all convicted felons and people acquitted by reason of insanity of any felony must submit to the test.
North Carolina becomes the 29th state in the country to include all felons in its DNA registry.
Attorney General Roy Cooper said that 40,000 samples will be taken in the first year under the new law, doubling the size of the DNA database. That expansion, he said, will give investigators a better chance of catching repeat offenders.
For consumers, a new law protects them against unknowingly buying a vehicle that has been rebuilt. It requires that vehicles declared a total loss by an insurance company must have their titles and registrations marked with "TOTAL LOSS CLAIM," and that rebuilt vehicles must have tamper-proof permanent markers that say "TOTAL LOSS CLAIM VEHICLE."
Another new statute is designed to shield patrons of nightclubs from unsafe indoor fireworks. It requires a safety check by local or state fire marshals before indoor use of pyrotechnics. It was passed after a Rhode Island nightclub fire on Feb. 20 killed about 100 people when a band's pyrotechnics ignited foam that the club used for soundproofing.
Staff writer Amy Gardner can be reached at 829-8902 or agardner@newsobserver.com.
* AMUSEMENT DEVICES: Provides criminal penalties when violations of state regulations on amusement devices cause death.
* ANTIQUE CARS: Allows a licensed motor vehicle dealer to get a temporary license to sell antique and specialty vehicles off-site for up to 10 days.
* DESIGNER DRUGS: Adds analogue drugs to criminal statutes against the manufacture, sale, delivery or possession with intent to sell controlled substances.
* GUARDIANSHIPS: Authorizes clerks of court to order a limited guardianship where the ward can retain certain legal rights and privileges.
* HIT-AND-RUN: Provides that a driver can have his or her license revoked for two years for leaving the scene of a crash involving injury or death.
* IMPAIRED DRIVERS: Requires defendants ordered into Drug Alcohol Recovery Treatment to first undergo chemical dependency screening.
* JUVENILE PRISONS: Extends penalty for allowing prisoners to escape to include those who allow juveniles to flee state facilities.
* PEEPING: Amends secret peeping law so that it covers men as well as women who are victims.
* SECURITIES FRAUD: Increases criminal punishment for large-scale securities fraud where the loss totals $100,000 or more.
* SEXUAL BATTERY: Creates new criminal offense of sexual battery and specifically protects the mentally disabled or physically helpless.
* SPORTS AGENTS: Requires more specific information on agents' background and makes it a felony for agents to give anything of value to student-athletes to induce them to sign a contract.
* STALKING: Requires supervised probation for anyone convicted of misdemeanor stalking who gets community punishment.
Also interesting:* SEXUAL BATTERY: Creates new criminal offense of sexual battery and specifically protects the mentally disabled or physically helpless.
Massachusetts did away with that one about ten years ago (Sex with a Mentally Retarded Person)
Guess it's unwise to persecute more than half of a state's citizens.
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