NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1975 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 449

HOUSE BILL 443

 

 

AN ACT TO MAKE BLOOD TEST FOR DETERMINING PATERNITY CONCLUSIVE WHERE THEY ARE UNCONTROVERTED AND RELIABLY CONDUCTED.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  North Carolina General Statutes 8-50.1 as the same presently appears in the 1969 Replacement Volume 1B of the General Statutes of North Carolina is hereby amended to delete the last sentence of the first paragraph thereof reading: "Such evidence shall be competent to rebut any presumption of paternity." and to substitute therefor the following new sentence:

"In any such case, where the result of such blood test is not shown to conflict with the result of any other such blood tests, and where the result of such blood test indicates that the defendant cannot be the father of the child, the jury shall be instructed that if they believe the witness presenting the result testified truthfully as to it, and if they believe that the test was conducted properly, then it will be their duty to return a verdict of not guilty."

Sec. 2.  North Carolina General Statutes 8-50.1 as the same presently appears in the 1969 Replacement Volume 1B of the General Statutes of North Carolina is hereby amended to add the following new sentence at the end of the second paragraph thereof:

"In any such case, where the result of such blood test is not shown to conflict with the result of any other such blood tests, and where the result of such blood test indicates that the defendant cannot be the father of the child, the jury shall be instructed that if they believe the witness presenting the result testified truthfully as to it, and if they believe that the test was conducted properly, then it will be their duty to return a verdict in favor of the defendant."

Sec. 3.  North Carolina General Statutes 49-7 as the same presently appears in the 1974 Cumulative Supplement to the 1966 Replacement Volume 2A of the General Statutes of North Carolina is hereby amended by rewriting the last paragraph thereof as follows:

"The court before whom the matter may be brought on motion of the defendant, shall direct an order that the defendant, the mother, and the child shall submit to a blood grouping test; and the court in its discretion may require the person requesting a blood grouping test to pay the cost thereof. The result of any such blood grouping test shall be admitted in evidence when offered by a duly licensed practicing physician or duly qualified person, and the evidentiary effect of such blood grouping test shall be as prescribed in G.S. 8-50.1, and, if a jury shall try the issue, it shall be instructed as set out therein. From a finding of the issue of paternity against the defendant, the defendant shall have the same right of appeal as though he had been found guilty of the crime of willful failure to support a bastard child."

Sec. 4.  This act shall become effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 2nd day of June, 1975.