State v. ArringtonÂ, 2017 N.C. App. LEXIS 617

Defendant James Edward Arrington pled guilty to assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, felony failure to appear, and attaining habitual felon status pursuant to a plea deal that stipulated he had 16 prior-record-level points (Level V).
The prior-record worksheet listed six prior convictions, including a 1994 North Carolina second-degree murder conviction (the "1994 Conviction") classified on the worksheet as a Class B1 offense and assigned 9 points.
At sentencing the defense counsel expressly stipulated to the contents of the sentencing worksheet and the trial court sentenced Defendant as a Level V habitual felon to 96–128 months.
Defendant later challenged on appeal that the 1994 Conviction should have been classified as Class B2 (6 points), which would have left him with 13 points and a Level IV designation.
The core legal dispute was whether Defendant’s stipulation as to the classification of the 1994 Conviction resolved a factual issue (permissible) or a legal issue (impermissible), because the statute classifying second-degree murder was amended after 1994 to create B1/B2 distinctions.
The Court granted certiorari despite a Rule 4 filing defect, concluded the stipulation implicated a question of law and therefore was invalid, vacated the judgment, set aside the plea, and remanded for further proceedings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Arrington)	Held
Whether a defendant can validly stipulate to the classification of a prior conviction when classification requires applying a statute enacted after the prior conviction (a question of law).	The stipulation concerned a factual matter (the prior conviction’s classification on the worksheet) and thus was binding proof of the prior conviction and its class.	The stipulation attempted to resolve a legal question—how the 1994 conviction should be classified under a later-enacted statute—so it was invalid and not binding.	The Court held the stipulation involved a question of law (retroactive classification under the amended statute), so it was invalid; judgment and plea vacated.

State v. Alexander, 359 N.C. 824 (establishes that a defendant’s stipulation via worksheet and counsel statements can prove the existence of prior convictions)
State v. Hinton, 196 N.C. App. 750 (recognizes that a sentencing worksheet plus counsel statements can constitute a stipulation)
State v. Wingate, 213 N.C. App. 419 (holds classification of a prior conviction may be factual where no legal change affects classification)
State v. Sanders, 367 N.C. 716 (determination whether an out-of-state conviction is substantially similar to a NC offense is a question of law)
State v. Hanton, 175 N.C. App. 250 (stating stipulations as to questions of law are generally invalid in sentencing contexts)
State v. Rico, 218 N.C. App. 109 (supports vacating plea/sentence when sentence improperly imposed based on invalid stipulation)