Misdemeanor Sanctions Making a Difference

Purpose of Misdemeanor Sentencing To protect the public from future crime by the offender and others (emphasis added) To punish the offender

Judge’s Discretion Unless mandatory jail or another specific sanction is required the court has discretion to determine the most effective way to achieve the purposes of sentencing and may impose any sanction or combination of sanctions.

JAIL Minor Misdemeanor- None 4TH Degree Misdemeanor – 30 days 3rd Degree Misdemeanor - 60 days 2nd Degree Misdemeanor – 90 days 1st Degree Misdemeanor – 180 days

Work Release or Intermittent Confinement Except for mandatory terms the court may: Permit intermittent confinement, overnight, on weekends or at any other time to allow the person to keep their job or care for their family Allow release so that the person can seek or maintain employment, receive education or training, receive treatment, perform community service, or otherwise fulfill an obligation imposed by law or by the court

FINES Minor Misdemeanor- $150.00 4TH Degree Misdemeanor - $250.00 3rd Degree Misdemeanor - $500.00 2nd Degree Misdemeanor - $750.00 1st Degree Misdemeanor - $1,000.00

Driving Privilege Sanctions If authorized by law, suspension of driving privileges, immobilization or forfeiture of a vehicle or any related sanction

Community Service Community Service up to five hundred hours for a 1st Degree Misdemeanor and up to two hundred hours for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Degree Misdemeanors

Restitution Court can order restitution A 5% fee can be charged to collect restitution

Community Control Sanctions Community Control Department

Except when a jail term is required by law the court has several options Directly impose a sentence that consists of one or more community control sanctions Impose a jail term, suspend all or a portion of the jail term imposed, and place the offender under a community control sanction The duration of any community control sanction may not exceed five (5) years

Three Types of “Probation” Intensive Probation Supervision Basic Probation Supervision Monitored Time (Good Behavior)

Intensive Probation Supervision Requires the person maintain frequent contact with the probation department while the offender is seeking or maintaining necessary employment and participating in training, education and treatment programs as required in the court’s order

Basic Probation Supervision A term of basic probation supervision defined as a requirement that the offender maintain contact with a person appointed to supervise the offender in accordance with sanctions imposed by the court

Monitored Time A term of monitored time defined as a period of time during which the offender continues to be under the control of the court subject to no conditions other than leading a law-abiding life (i.e. good behavior)

Community Residential Sanctions

Halfway House Serving all or a part of the jail term in a halfway house (if the political subdivision that would have responsibility for paying the costs of confining the offender in a jail has entered into a contract with the halfway house for use of the facility for misdemeanor offenders)

Alternative Residential Facility Serving all or a part of the jail term in an alternative residential facility. Any facility other than the offender’s home that (a) provides programs through which the offender may seek or maintain employment or may receive education, training, treatment or habilitation and (b) has received licensing or certification from the governmental agency responsible for certification or licensing

Release and Other Options While Serving a Residential Sanction Same option as jai release: Permit intermittent confinement, overnight, on weekends or at any other time to allow the offender to continue at the offender’s occupation or care for the offender’s family

-continued- Allow release so that the offender may seek or maintain employment, receive education or training, receive treatment, perform community service, or otherwise fulfill an obligation imposed by law or by the court Order that part of the offender’s wages while on release be applied to any financial sanction imposed

Nonresidential Sanctions Nonresidential sanctions include but are not limited to the following that may be imposed alone or in combination:

Day Reporting Requires an offender to report to and leave a center or other approved reporting location at specified times in order to participate in work, education or training, treatment, and other approved programs at the center or outside the center

House Arrest House arrest with or without electronic monitoring

Drug Treatment Program A term in a drug treatment program with a level of security for the offender as determined necessary by the court

Drug and Alcohol Use Monitoring A term of drug and alcohol use monitoring

Curfew A curfew may be imposed

Employment A requirement that the offender obtain employment

Education or Training A requirement that the offender obtain education or training

Victim-Offender Mediation Victim-offender mediation with the approval of the victim

Counseling Counseling including but not limited to family violence counseling

Other Sanctions Any other sanction intended to discourage the offender or other persons from committing a similar offense if reasonably related to the purposes of sentencing

Early Intervention

Misdemeanor Case- Conditions of Bond

Conditions of Bond Criminal Rule 46 permits a Judge to place conditions on a person’s release from jail on bond

What conditions can the Judge set?

Place the person in the custody of a trusted person or organization Place the person in the custody of a designated person or organization agreeing to supervise the person

Place Restrictions on where the person can live and who they can associate with Place restrictions on the travel, association, or place of abode of the person during the period of release

House Arrest or Work Release Place the person in a work release program Place the person on house arrest

Control contact with Victim Regulate or prohibit the person’s contact with the victim Protection Order or No Contact Order

Control contact with witnesses or others Regulate the person’s contact with witnesses or others associated with the case upon proof of the likelihood that the person will threaten, harass, cause injury, or seek to intimidate those persons

Attend alcohol or drug treatment Require a person who is charged with an offense that is alcohol or drug related, and who appears to need treatment, to attend treatment while on bond.

Any other condition reasonably necessary to ensure appearance or public safety Any other constitutional condition considered reasonably necessary to ensure appearance or public safety

Role of Community Control Department with Conditions of Bond The community control department monitors compliance with conditions of bond just as they monitor compliance with terms and conditions of probation post conviction

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