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Can Someone Make Sense Into This Sentence?

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  • 03-31-2008, 10:41 PM
    mcallenite
    Can Someone Make Sense Into This Sentence?
    A friend of mine was convicted of two federal misdemeanors and sentenced to 6 months halfway house, 6 months house arrest and 5 years probation. At sentencing the judge pointed out that my friend was the first person in the United States to be sentenced for not properly maintaining buses he owned and operated and that he (the judge) therefore had no precedent he could use for referencing the sentence.

    The problem we are having is determining what would happen if he would violate probation. Normally one would have to serve a suspended sentence, right? But in his case, he served his sentence (the halfway house and the house arrest), so what would be his penalty for violating probation?

    The probation surely cannot mean that a violation would send him to jail for 5 years, since the maximum penalty for each count is only one year. And the judge did not sentence him to one year each, with the remainder suspended, but, as mentioned, to six months halfway house and house arrest for each count.

    His attorney does not seem to know, the court did not clarify it, and we are starting to suspect that the sentence is seriously flawed. It somehow does not seem to make sense. Could you give us your opinion and help us make sense of it?

    Thanks

    Fred
    Texas
  • 04-03-2008, 07:59 AM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: Can Someone Make Sense Into This Sentence?
    If you commit a probation violation, you subject yourself to being resentenced on the original charge. If the original charge carries a five year max, the maximum sentence on the probation violation would be that maximum sentence less time served.

    If you're asking about consecutive versus concurrent sentencing, consecutive sentences are served back-to-back (1+1+1+1+1=5), and concurrent sentences are served together (five simultaneous 1 year periods = 1 year).
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