July 07, 2011, 15:55
John A. OlsonProbation Limits
Can one who is agreeing to plea offer to plea to 2 years in state jail facility, BUT probated for 4 years. I thought the probated time could not exceed pen time.
July 07, 2011, 16:22
Terry BreenThe amount of pen time that is suspended has nothing to do with how long the probation is. You could give a guy 2 years in TDC, and suspend it for 10 years probation if you want to.
July 07, 2011, 21:29
Brody V. BurksSame thing with misdemeanors- a class B is only punishable by up to 180, but you can probate for 2 years, whether it's an A or a B.
The time periods for probation have gotten a bit complicated, thanks to change after change by the Legislature since the rewrite in 1993. While the period of community supervision (remember that fancy name change for probation that everyone has ignored?) can exceed the period of confinement, the range of supervision time available is very dependent on the type of offense.
For example, for a state jail felony, the initial period must be within 2-5 years, unless you are using deferred adjudication, and then the maximum can be 10 years.
For all of the limitations, check out the Community Supervision chapter in The Perfect Plea, the latest edition that was sent to all prosecutors thanks to a grant from the CCA.