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Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina House Bill 771 authorizes witness depositions in criminal cases, establishes sexual assault victim rights, and modifies District Attorneys Conference
Last action · April 30, 2025: Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate (Senate action)Sponsors: Stevens and 3 others
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What This Bill Would Do
North Carolina House Bill 771 allows the State to request court-ordered s of material witnesses in criminal cases under specific circumstances, establishes new statutory rights for sexual assault victims regarding evidence kits, and amends operations for the Conference of District Attorneys. The deposition and sexual assault provisions take effect December 1, 2025, while the District Attorneys Conference modifications take effect July 1, 2025.
The measure alters criminal trial discovery by enabling pretrial witness s for the prosecution, grants sexual assault survivors specific tracking and preservation rights for forensic kits, and changes internal governance rules for district attorneys.
- The North Carolina General Assembly considers public bills proposing updates to state statutes governing criminal law procedure and district attorney operations during its legislative session. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
criminal defendants
Defendants are subject to state-requested depositions, are entitled to notice and presence at examinations, and gain the right to counsel for depositions.
victims of sexual assault
Victims gain statutory rights to track evidence kit testing status and location, receive disposal warnings, and have support advocates present in court.
Office of the Attorney General
The office is required to prepare, publish, and distribute a plain-language list of rights for victims of sexual assault.
Conference of District Attorneys
The organization experiences modified meeting notice timelines, election rules, and executive director licensing mandates.
Key Facts
- The State may move the court to take a deposition of a prospective material witness in criminal proceedings under specific statutory criteria such as imminent danger, severe illness, or age 65 or older.
- A motion to take a deposition by the State requires at least 10 days' notice to the defendant and must be heard by the court having jurisdiction over the most serious charge.
- Audiovisual recordings of depositions may be required by any party, but remain confidential from public inspection until admitted into evidence at a trial or hearing.
- Persons for whom a sexual assault evidence collection kit has been completed gain the right to request testing status, location information, advance notice of destruction, and further preservation.
Show all 8 facts
- The Office of the Attorney General must prepare, publish on its website, and distribute to hospitals a plain-language list of sexual assault victims' rights by December 1, 2025.
- Notice requirements for calling meetings of the Conference of District Attorneys are reduced from 10 days to five days.
- The Executive Director of the Conference of District Attorneys must be an attorney licensed and eligible to practice in North Carolina courts at appointment and throughout service.
- The deposition and sexual assault kit provisions apply to offenses committed and kits in possession on or after December 1, 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
Under what conditions can the State take a deposition of a witness before trial?
What rights do sexual assault victims have regarding their evidence collection kits under this bill?
When do the new deposition and victim rights provisions go into effect?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
14 actions- Apr 30, 2025SenateRef To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
- Apr 30, 2025SenatePassed 1st Reading
- Apr 30, 2025SenateRegular Message Received From House
- Apr 30, 2025HouseRegular Message Sent To Senate
- Apr 29, 2025HousePassed 3rd Reading
- Apr 29, 2025HousePassed 2nd Reading
Show 8 earlier actions
- Apr 28, 2025HousePlaced On Cal For 04/29/2025
- Apr 28, 2025HouseCal Pursuant Rule 36(b)
- Apr 28, 2025HouseReptd Fav
- Apr 15, 2025HouseRe-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 15, 2025HouseReptd Fav
- Apr 7, 2025HouseRef to the Com on Judiciary 2, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 7, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
- Apr 3, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Voting Record
Second Reading
Total
115
- Yes
- 106
- No
- 3
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 6
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (115)
91 more members
Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Prosecution Deposition Powers
The legislation establishes formal statutory mechanisms for the State to depose material witnesses in criminal cases under defined exceptional circumstances.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy45Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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