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Sentences vary dramatically in length from a few hours in jail to life in prison, or even the death penalty. Often, the sentence length determines where the defendant will serve their time. People sentenced to less than a year's incarceration (often misdemeanors) will generally go to a local jail.
Judges can suspend either type of sentence—a misdemeanor jail sentence or a felony prison sentence. In some felony cases, a judge might suspend the prison sentence and place the defendant on probation, which can include a short jail sentence.
Depending on the options available in the jurisdiction, a judge could sentence a defendant to probation, treatment court, community service, or another alternative. We'll review some of these options below. Does a Conviction Always Mean Jail Time or Prison? No, not always.
A judge might hand down a sentence as follows: The defendant is sentenced to 12 months in jail with credit for 30 days time served. Here, the defendant has already served 30 days in custody and will need to serve 11 months to complete the sentence.
As an alternative to jail or prison, a judge can sentence a defendant to unsupervised or supervised probation. This usually involves a deferred or suspended sentence, and these sentences are available in both misdemeanor and felony cases.
A suspended sentence is a legal arrangement in criminal law where a person found guilty of a crime is not immediately sentenced to jail. Instead, the judge may either partially or entirely suspend the prison sentence.
A judge determines the sentence when there is no agreement between the parties at the time of the plea (an open plea) or after a guilty verdict in a jury trial. Although, in some states, the jury has the authority to decide the prison sentence within the criminal statute limits.
Do people convicted of the same or similar crimes receive similar sentences? What factors do judges use in determining sentences? Can my attorney ask for an alternative sentence? Who determines what punishment a convicted defendant receives?
WASHINGTON (CN) — A federal judge shaved a year off a Washington Proud Boy’s six-year prison sentence on Friday for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and planning a failed second insurrection the following month in Portland, Oregon.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday imposed a one-year reduction in a prison sentence for a man who stormed the U.S. Capitol and then engaged in a pattern of disruptive courtroom behavior, including berating and insulting the judge. Marc Bru complained about his prison conditions but refrained from hurling any more insults at Chief ...