Issue

Harsher punishment following successful appeal—original minimum sentence erroneously undercalculated—proper punishment imposed after second trial

Summary

In a prosecution where defendant's multiple convictions on charges arising from a string of motor vehicle and credit card thefts were consolidated into two judgments for sentencing and where, on one consolidated judgment, the trial court erroneously undercalculated defendant’s minimum sentence under the Structured Sentencing Act (SSA) after his first trial, the prohibition on imposing a harsher punishment following a criminal defendant's successful appeal (as set forth in N.C.G.S. § 15A-1335) was not offended when the trial court imposed the proper, lawful minimum sentence after defendant's second trial. While both the SSA and section 15A-1335 appeared applicable to defendant’s resentencing, the former controlled because it provided more specific sentencing criteria than the latter. Thus, on remand, the trial court was required to enter a harsher sentence than defendant’s original sentence in order to comply with the SSA because courts may not impose illegal sentences.

Summary from the North Carolina Reports digest (official subject index). Read the opinion →