NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1979 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 1090

HOUSE BILL 1328

 

 

AN ACT TO MAKE LAWFUL THE POSSESSION OF ANTIQUE SLOT MACHINES.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  A new section is added to Article 37 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes to read:

"§ 14-309.1.  Defense to possession. — (a) In any prosecution for possession of a slot machine or device as defined in G.S. 14-306, it is a defense that the slot machine was not intended to be used in the operation or promotion of unlawful gambling activity or enterprise and that the slot machine is an antique. For purposes of this section a slot machine manufactured twenty-five years ago or earlier is conclusively presumed to be an antique.

(b)        When a defendant raises the defense provided in subsection (a), any slot machine seized from the defendant shall not be destroyed or otherwise altered until a final court determination is rendered. If the court determines that the defense has been proved the slot machine shall be returned immediately to the defendant."

Sec. 2.  This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 16th day of June, 1980.