Jail Credit for CRVs

Today’s post is about a recurrent question related to jail credit for periods of confinement in response to violation (CRV). First, a 30-second refresher on the basics of CRV. When a probationer commits a violation other than a new criminal offense or absconding, the court may order a period of confinement in response to violation. … Read more

G.S. 90-96 Limbo

The Justice Reinvestment Act made conditional discharge under G.S. 90-96(a) mandatory for eligible, consenting defendants. The law was amended last year to make it discretionary again for offenses committed on or after December 1, 2013. S.L. 2013-210. But while it was mandatory, a lot of defendants were placed on probation under G.S. 90-96(a). Naturally, many … Read more

North Carolina on Probation

This morning’s New York Times included an opinion piece by Bill Keller entitled America on Probation. It talks about the recent movement away from incarceration as the cornerstone of the American criminal justice system, and the emergence of new community-based supervision strategies that are both cheaper and, advocates argue, more effective. The editorial coincides with … Read more

New Structured Sentencing Handbook

From 1995 to 2009, North Carolina had two sentencing grids—one for felonies, one for misdemeanors. That was it. Then the grid was amended in 2009. And 2011 (with special rules for sex offenders). And 2013, for both felonies and misdemeanors. Because you should always use the grid that was in place when the defendant committed … Read more

Early Medical Release

North Carolina has a law allowing certain prison inmates to be released early for medical reasons. It was passed in 2008, largely in response to concerns that a small number of aging inmates accounted for a sizeable percentage of the system’s medical budget. The law is similar in concept to compassionate release in the federal … Read more

Another Jail Credit Issue: The Charge that Culminated in the Sentence

Last week I wrote a post about “using up” jail credit that generated some helpful comments. Thanks! I’m hoping for a repeat performance with today’s post, which is about another jail credit issue. A defendant must receive credit for all the time he or she is confined “as a result of the charge that culminated … Read more

A Sampling of Justice Reinvestment Statistics

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, today’s post will be the last of the week. That means it is the last post before December 1, when another batch of new laws comes into effect. Perhaps most notable among them is the new rule limiting punishment for a Class 3 misdemeanor to a fine only for defendants with three … Read more