Nebraska Supreme Court Clarifies Procedure for Crediting Jail Time to Multiple Contemporaneously-Imposed Sentences by Matthew Clarke In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Nebraska clarified the procedure to be used when crediting time spent in pretrial incarceration against multiple contemporaneously-imposed sentences pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 83-1.106, …

California Court of Appeal Strikes Prison Prior Enhancement for Invalid Predicate Offense Under § 1172.75 Despite Concurrently Served Valid Predicate by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate, held that a defendant’s prison prior enhancement based on an offense that may no longer serve as …

Washington Supreme Court: Nonexceptional Consecutive Terms of ‘Community Custody’ May Not Exceed Aggregate Term of 24 Months by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford TheSupreme Court of Washington held that the terms “community custody” and “community supervision” are synonymous within the meaning of the second sentence of RCW 9.94A.589(5) for offenses …

Sixth Circuit: Sentence Procedurally Unreasonable Where District Court Failed to Explain Decision to Impose Consecutive Sentences and Substantively Unreasonable Where Court Improperly Weighed Sentencing Factors by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that Andrew Damarr Morris’ sentence was procedurally unreasonable because …

Supreme Court of California: After Amendments to Three Strikes Law, Courts Retain Concurrent Sentencing Discretion for Qualifying Offenses Committed on Same Occasion or Arising From Same Operative Facts by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The Supreme Court of California held that after amendments to the Three Strikes law, trial courts …

SCOTUS Announces § 924(c)(1)(D)(ii)’s Consecutive Sentence Mandate Not Applicable to § 924(j) Sentences by Richard Resch by Richard Resch In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of the United States held that § 924(c)(1)(D)(ii)’s prohibition on concurrent sentences does not extend to sentences imposed under a different subsection of the …

Fifth Circuit: Consecutive Sentence for FTA Must Be Part of ‘Total Punishment,’ Not Merely a Stacked Sentence by by Dale Chappell The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a mandatory consecutive sentence for a failure to appear (“FTA”) conviction must be calculated as part of the …

Michigan Supreme Court Announces Court Must Inform Defendant of Consecutive Sentencing Authority When Accepting Plea by David Reutter by David M. Reutter In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Michigan held “that MCR 6.302(B)(2) requires the trial court, in cases where such advice is relevant, to advise …