The Right Way to Find the “Under Supervision” Prior Record Level Bonus Point

A person convicted of a felony is eligible for an additional prior record point if “the offense was committed while the offender was on supervised or unsupervised probation, parole, or post-release supervision, or while the offender was serving a sentence of imprisonment, or while the offender was on escape from a correctional institution.” G.S. 15A-1340.14(b)(7). I call that point the “under supervision” bonus point. Though part of the defendant’s prior record level, the point is probably best thought of as an aggravating factor. A recent court of appeals case reminds us why. In State v. Crook, the defendant was convicted of several felonies. He had only one prior conviction that counted for a sentencing point—a DWI. He was apparently still on probation for that when he committed the felonies at issue in Crook, because he was also assessed the “under supervision” bonus point. That gave him two points, putting him in prior record level II. On appeal, the defendant argued that including the bonus point was improper because the State didn’t follow the statutory procedures related to it. Specifically, the State failed to provide him with written notice of its intent to prove the point at least 30 days before trial or entry of a guilty or no contest plea, as required by G.S. 15A-1340.16(a6). The State argued that it satisfied the notice requirement by giving the defendant a copy of the prior record level worksheet (AOC-CR-600B) more than 30 days before trial. Moreover, the State argued, the worksheet included a [...]