The introductory chapter describes how a sentence is determined under structured sentencing in the State. It reviews the pertinent structured sentencing statutes; the key appellate decisions that have interpreted them; and changes enacted by the General Assembly during the 2002, 2003, and 2004 legislative sessions. Also discussed are other sentencing provisions, such as restitution requirements, that may be included in a sentence. The Punishment Chart for North Carolina Crimes indicates the current punishment, as of the close of the 2004 legislative session, for listed offenses. The chart lists those offenses that appear most often on the criminal dockets of district and superior courts. The first column of the chart lists the statutory references for each offense, and a second column contains a brief description of the offense. The third column indicates the current class of the offense. The Punishment Chart for Motor Vehicle Offenses lists the more common and/or more important motor vehicle offenses. The first column of the chart provides the section number that creates the offense; an asterisk beside the section number indicates that the court must require the offender to surrender his/her driver's license. The second column describes the offense, and the third column provides the section number of the statute that contains the punishment. The last column indicates whether the punishment is an infraction, misdemeanor, felony, etc. Appended 2004 waiver lists, the State's motor vehicle point system, and double penalties for commercial drivers and an index to the Punishment Chart for Motor Vehicle Offenses