Sentence Administration

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DEPARTMENT
OF
CORRECTION

POLICY
MANUAL SUBJECT:
Sentence Administration
Adopted: 01-1996
Reviewed: 05-19-04
Revised: 06-01-04
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01.00.00. POLICY OF THE DEPARTMENT
It is the policy of the Board of Correction that the Department of Correction establish
procedures and guidelines for the administration of the sentences of persons committed
to the custody of the Board of Correction.
01.01.00. PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to provide authority for determining periods of retained
jurisdiction, parole eligibility and full term release dates according to Idaho Code and
Department of Correction policy.
02.00.00. TABLE OF CONTENTS
01.00.00. POLICY OF THE DEPARTMENT
01.01.00. PURPOSE
02.00.00. TABLE OF CONTENTS
03.00.00. REFERENCES
04.00.00. DEFINITIONS
05.00.00. SCOPE
06.00.00. RESPONSIBILITY
07.00.00. PROCEDURE
07.01.00. Sentence Calculation
07.02.00. Sentence Calculation Rules
07.03.00. Goodtime Credits
08.00.00. FLOW CHART
09.00.00.SIGNATURE
03.00.00. REFERENCES
Idaho Code Sections 20-101A, 101B, 101D, 201, 223, 228, 233, 239, 18-309, 2050,
19-2505, 2513, 2514, 2520, 2520B, 2520C, 2520D, 2520E, 2520F, 2520G, 2601, and
37-2739.
Doan V. State of Idaho, 132 Idaho 796, 979 P.2d 1154 (1999).
04.00.00. DEFINITIONS
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Concurrent Sentences. Sentences which are served at the same time, but which may
begin and end on different days.
Consecutive Sentences. Sentences which must be served one after the other to include
all minimum terms and indeterminate terms.
Determinate Term. See minimum term.
Goodtime. Days credited for goodtime behavior, which reduce the length of the
sentence as specified by Idaho Code Section 20-101A.
Indeterminate Term. That portion of a sentence during which the offender is eligible for
parole consideration by the Commission of Pardons and Parole.
Institutional Parole. Parole granted from a pre-unified sentence to a consecutive
sentence being served in prison.
Jail Credit. A period of time which is credited towards the imposed sentence for time
spent incarcerated prior to the date of sentencing as specified in the official order issued
by the sentencing court consistent with Idaho Code Section 18-309.
Minimum Term. That portion of a sentence imposed on a crime during which the
offender is not eligible for parole consideration.
Mittimus. The judgment of commitment.
Parole Eligibility Date. The date upon which the inmate becomes eligible for
consideration for parole by the Commission of Pardons and Parole.
Sentence Effective Date. The date the offender was sentenced unless the judge delays
the commencement of the sentence.
05.00.00. SCOPE
The offender’s sentence and length of supervision under the authority of the
Department of Correction and Commission for Pardons and Parole is affected by Policy
136, Sentence Administration.
06.00.00. RESPONSIBILITY
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The Inmate Placement/Records Bureau sentencing staff shall have sole responsibility
for the sentence calculation of all offenders sentenced to incarceration.
Amendments to the sentence shall fall under the jurisdiction of the sentencing courts or
the Commission for Pardons and Parole.
The director of the Department of Correction shall be solely responsible for any
adjustment to the sentence in the cases of meritorious or industrial goodtime as defined
in Idaho Code Section 20-101D.
07.00.00. PROCEDURE
07.01.00. Sentence Calculation
Sentence Calculation. Sentences must be calculated for each offender to determine the
date the sentence begins, the date that parole eligibility begins, and the date the
offender is entitled to discharge from commitment to the custody of the Board of
Correction. Sentence calculation is affected by various adjustments to the sentence.
Adjustments are credits reducing the sentence and forfeitures that increase the
sentence.
Commitments. The judgment of commitment, otherwise known as a mittimus, entered
by the clerk of the court and signed by the sentencing judge is the document which
pronounces the sentence and which sets forth what sentence the offender will serve.
The sentence effective date is the date the sentence begins unless it is consecutive to
another sentence.
The records bureau shall make every reasonable effort to interpret the terms of the
judgment of commitment consistent with the sentencing laws of the State of Idaho.
Sentences will be calculated according to the sentence imposed on the face of the
judgment of conviction.
Whenever it appears from the order of commitment that the court may have imposed an
unlawful sentence, the records bureau shall notify the sentencing court, in writing.
Notification shall specify in what manner the records bureau feels the sentence is
unlawful.
If the court does not otherwise specify and if there is no sentencing law requiring a
different result, all sentences imposed will be calculated as being concurrent to each
other.
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If the court specifies that a sentence is to be served consecutively but does not specify
a particular sentence to which the new sentence is consecutive, it will be considered to
be consecutive to whichever sentence was being served at the time the new sentence
was imposed.
Any sentence of confinement for an escape must be consecutive to other sentences
imposed. See Idaho Code Section 19-2520.
If a person commits a felony while incarcerated in the Department of Correction, any
sentence of confinement for said felony must be consecutive to the confinement
imposed for the underlying sentence. See Idaho Code Section 19-2520F.
Final Release Date. The final release date is calculated by taking the sentence begin
date, adding the number of years, months, and days of the sentence, taking into
account any adjustments to the sentence and arriving at the day the offender will be
released from commitment to the custody of the Board of Correction.
Adjustments. Adjustments are additions to the length of the sentence for days forfeited,
or subtractions from the length of the sentence for days credited.
Additions are:
Parole forfeits. If an offender is released on parole and thereafter violates that
parole, time spent on parole is forfeited at the discretion of the Commission of Pardons
and Parole and added to the sentences upon which the offender was paroled as an
adjustment to the final release date per Idaho Code Section 20-228;
The Commission of Pardons and Parole is the sole authority to determine the
date ranges for time forfeited while on parole;
If the offender is granted an institutional parole and violates the parole after being
released from custody, time forfeited while on parole is added to all sentences paroled
from with credit given for time served in the institution on the consecutive sentence.
Escape/Absent Without Leave (AWOL). Time spent outside the custody of the
Department of Correction while on escape will be added to the sentence being served
at the time of escape or AWOL as an adjustment. Calculation of the sentence will reflect
Idaho Code Section 18-2505.
Time out of custody. Time spent out of the custody of the Department of
Correction while on bond or other court ordered releases or furloughs will be added to
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the length of the sentence as an adjustment. Time out on court ordered release is
added to the term being served when the release was ordered.
Goodtime. Any credits earned but forfeited because of a disciplinary offense will
be added as an adjustment to the final release date as reflected in Idaho Code Section
20-101A.
Subtractions are:
Jail Credits. Jail credits shall only be calculated based on an award of credit
specified in an order of the sentencing court consistent with Idaho Code Section 18-309.
Jail credits are calculated by subtracting the number of days credit from the end
of the minimum term or from the final release date if no minimum term applies to the
sentence;
If the offender questions jail credits for presentence incarceration, it is the
offender’s responsibility to contact the sentencing court for resolution.
Retained Jurisdiction. Any time served in the custody of the Department of
Correction prior to a return for a probation violation on the same sentence is subtracted
from the minimum term, or from the final release date if no minimum applies.
Goodtime. Goodtime, statutory or meritorious, is awarded in compliance with
this policy and procedure and is subtracted from the final release date.
Institutional Parole. Time served on a sentence while on institutional parole
from another sentence is given as credit for time served on the sentence paroled to if a
violation occurs after being released from custody.
07.02.00. Sentence Calculation Rules
All sentences will be calculated to begin on the sentence effective date and the rules for
additions and subtractions as discussed above apply. Parole eligibility is determined by
the type of sentence. Most sentences fall into two (2) categories - Pre-Unified
Sentencing Act Sentences and Unified Sentences.
Pre-Unified Sentencing Act Sentences. Crimes committed prior to February 1, 1987,
regardless of the date of sentencing, may be wholly fixed (no parole possible) or wholly
indeterminate. Unlike unified sentences, an offender must serve any consecutive
sentence in its entirety. Both the fixed and indeterminate terms must be served, unless
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the sentence is commuted or the offender is institutionally paroled from the sentence to
a consecutive sentence. An offender is parole eligible on a wholly indeterminate
sentence from the sentence effective date except as noted below:
Sentenced after July 1, 1971 but prior to July 1, 1980:
No person serving a life sentence is eligible for parole until ten (10) years of the
sentence have been served;
No person serving any sentence for homicide in any degree, treason, rape where
violence is an element of the crime, robbery of any kind, kidnapping, burglary when
armed with a dangerous weapon, assault with intent to kill, or murder in the second
degree is eligible until one-third (1/3) of the sentence has been served; and;
No person serving any sentence for rape, incest, crime against nature, lewd act
upon a minor, or any attempt or assault with intent to commit any of said crimes, or
serving a sentence enhanced as a habitual offender is eligible for parole until one-third
(1/3) or five (5) years of the sentence, whichever is less, has been served.
Sentenced after July 1, 1980, but prior to February 1, 1987:
No person serving a sentence of life or a term of more than thirty (30) years is
eligible for parole until ten (10) years of the sentence has been served; and
No person serving a lesser sentence for homicide in any degree; treason; rape
by force or threat of bodily harm; incest; crime against nature; lewd act upon a minor;
robbery of any kind; kidnapping; burglary when armed with a dangerous weapon; an
attempt or assault with intent to commit any of the above crimes, or as an habitual
offender is eligible for parole until one-third (1/3) or five (5) years of the sentence,
whichever is less, has been served.
If an offender receives an institutional parole and is later paroled from the institution, the
balance of the consecutive indeterminate sentences shall run at the same time. If the
offender violates said parole, the time forfeited shall be added equally to all sentences
paroled from with credit for time served on the consecutive sentence.
Unified Sentencing Act Sentences. All crimes committed on or after February 1,
1987, fall under the Unified Sentencing Act. A unified sentence is a sentence containing
a minimum term of confinement. For all crimes committed on or after February 1, 1987,
the court must specify a minimum term of confinement. The difference between the
minimum term imposed and the maximum term imposed, if any, is the indeterminate
term, which is the term during which the inmate is eligible for parole on that sentence.
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All minimum terms must be fully served before an offender is parole eligible on any
sentence.
Where the court specifies that the minimum term of confinement is the same as the
maximum term of confinement, thereby making the sentence a wholly fixed sentence
with no indeterminate terms, it will be considered to be a minimum term of confinement
for purposes of parole eligibility.
If an offender is currently serving the indeterminate portion of any sentence, and
receives an additional sentence with a minimum term of confinement specified, that
minimum term of confinement must be served prior to the inmate again being parole
eligible on any sentence.
Sentences imposed to run consecutively must be served consecutively according to
these rules:
Minimum terms of confinement must be served one (1) after the other and cannot
be served at the same time. An offender becomes parole eligible on all sentences
when all minimum terms of confinement have been served.
Indeterminate terms of consecutive sentences must also be served consecutively
and cannot be served at the same time. Indeterminate portions of consecutively
imposed sentences are served consecutively whether in the institution or on parole until
discharged according to law.
If the offender has served all minimum terms and is paroled out of the institution,
all remaining indeterminate terms are still to run consecutively and must be served one
(1) at a time on parole until discharged according to law.
As of May 24, 1999, all escape sentences are calculated per the Unified
Sentencing Act. (Doan v. State of Idaho, 132 Idaho 796, 979 P.2d 1154 (1999)).
Unified And Pre-Unified Sentence Combinations. The following procedures are used
to calculate consecutive sentences when administering multiple sentences that fall
under both the Pre-Unified and Unified Sentencing Acts:
When an offender is sentenced to a consecutive sentence under the Unified
Sentencing Act while serving an indeterminate sentence under the Pre-Unified Act, the
unified sentence will begin on its sentence effective date and continue until its
determinate portion is satisfied. The pre-unified sentence will be suspended during this
time. It will resume upon completion of the determinate portion of the consecutive
unified sentence and continue to run until the total imposed sentence is completed.
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When the pre-unified sentence is satisfied, the indeterminate portion of the unified
sentence will resume and run until it is completed.
If the unified sentence is wholly determinate, then the entire sentence will be
served before returning to the pre-unified sentence for completion of the indeterminate
sentence.
Under former Idaho Code Section 20-223, certain crimes required a minimum
portion of time to be served before parole eligibility. In the case where the pre-unified
sentence has a minimum portion to serve before parole eligibility, that portion must be
satisfied before passing to the determinate portion of the consecutive unified sentence.
All determinate or mandatory minimums must be served before the offender is
parole eligible.
Sentence Enhancements. Charges of use of a firearm, Idaho Code Section 19-2520;
infliction of great bodily injury, Idaho Code Section 19-2520B; repeated sex offenses,
Idaho Code Section 19-2520C; controlled substances, Idaho Code Section 37-2739;
and persistent violator Idaho Code Section 19-2514, are sentence enhancements.
Case law has determined that an enhancement is not a separate sentence but an
extension of the underlying sentence. Whether the enhancement is fixed or
indeterminate is to be specified by the sentencing court. Enhancements extend the term
of imprisonment by increasing the maximum sentence. (Idaho Code Section 19-2520;
19-2520A-G).
Retained Jurisdiction. Authority for calculating the period of retained jurisdiction is under
Idaho Code Section 19-2601 (4). The court shall retain jurisdiction over the prisoner for
the first one-hundred eighty (180) days or if the prisoner is a juvenile, until the juvenile
reached twenty-one (21) years of age.
07.03.00. Goodtime Credits
Statutory Goodtime Credits. Statutory goodtime is used to reduce the maximum term of
an inmate’s sentence for those who are eligible. It is a subtraction from the final release
date. The rate is specified by Idaho Code Section 20-101A. Statutory goodtime is
available only for sentences on crimes committed before July 1, 1986, regardless of
when the sentence was imposed. No statutory goodtime reduction is allowed for
sentences on crimes committed after July 1, 1986.
Statutory goodtime credits are computed as follows:
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Five (5) days for each month, if the sentence is not less than six (6) months and
not more than one (1) year;
Six (6) days for each month, if the sentence is more than one (1) year and less
than three (3) years;
Seven (7) days for each month, if the sentence is not less than three (3) years
and less than five (5) years;
Eight (8) days for each month, if the sentence is not less than five (5) years and
less than ten (10) years; and
Ten (10) days for each month, if the sentence is ten (10) years or more; or
When two (2) or more consecutive sentences are imposed, goodtime credit is
based on the aggregate sentence.
Statutory goodtime credits are computed and awarded in a lump sum at the beginning
of the sentence. Goodtime is considered accrued and subject to forfeiture as of that
date. Goodtime, however as noted above, is subtracted from the final release date.
Goodtime may be forfeited as punishment for a disciplinary infraction. The forfeiture
may be made upon a finding of guilty by a disciplinary hearing officer. Goodtime will be
forfeited from all sentences being served at the time of the infraction.
An eligible offender may petition the director of correction for restoration of goodtime
forfeited. Restoration of goodtime is at the nonreviewable discretion of the director and
may be granted when:
The applicant demonstrates one (1) year of disciplinary-free behavior;
The infraction which resulted in forfeiture of goodtime was not for the offenses of
participating in a riot, battery, coercion, extortion, menacing, or escape;
All work reports for the prior twelve (12) months are above average in all
categories; and
The applicant is within six (6) months of release.
Industrial Goodtime. Industrial goodtime is made to inmates who meet the following
criteria and who are outstanding in comparison to their peers: Industrial goodtime may
be awarded at a rate not to exceed five (5) days per month. Awards will be limited to not
more than one percent (1%) of the total facility population. Industrial goodtime may be
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awarded by the facility head with approval of the director. Industrial goodtime may be
awarded when:
The offender applying for the award:
Is in medium or lower custody;
Has been disciplinary infraction free for more than twelve (12) months;
Has received work evaluations of above average rating in all categories for a
period of six (6) months;
The work supervisor certifies that the offender is the most outstanding worker
under work supervision for the month in which the award is to be made;
The offender has made application to the delegated facility staff within fifteen (15)
days of the end of the month for which the offender is requesting an award, and;
The delegated staff has reviewed the request with the work supervisor and
recommended to the facility head that the award should be made.
Meritorious Goodtime. Exceptional, meritorious or outstanding service goodtime may
be awarded in a lump sum by the director of the Department of Correction per Idaho
Code Section 20-101D. The award shall not exceed the maximum, which could have
been granted as statutory goodtime. The director may make the award when an
offender performs an extraordinary act of heroism at the risk of the offender’s own life or
for outstanding service to the state of Idaho resulting in the saving of lives, prevention of
destruction or major property loss during a riot, or the prevention of an escape from a
secure facility. The offender must make application to the director within three (3)
months of the act.
Any award of exceptional, meritorious or outstanding goodtime credits may be forfeited
at the discretion of the director upon a subsequent finding of guilt for a disciplinary
violation.
All changes to an offender’s goodtime credits must be submitted to the records bureau
for inclusion in the formal record.
08.00.00. FLOWCHART
(See next page)
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SENTENCE ADMINISTRATION
Discharge document issued
by sentencing staff
Full sentence served
Indeterminate term served.
Adjustments for credit &
forfeitures made
Parole Hearing
Denies Parole
Sentencing staff
issues final
release document
Offender serves balance
of sentence
Sentencing Staff
adjusts full term date
by amount of
forfeiture
Commission determines
forfeited time
Violates parole
Commission issues
final discharge
document
Offender serves
indeterminate
term of sentence
Does not violate parole
Parole Hearing
Grants Parole
1.Court generates judgment of commitment to IDOC incarceration.
2. Sentence data entered into electronic data base by sentencing staff per court ordered sentence.
3. Adjustments for credits, forfeitures, and court ordered amendments are made by sentencing staff.
4. Offender serves minimum sentence.
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09.00.00. SIGNATURE
_______________________________ ___________________________
Director, Department of Correction Date