MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2015 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representative DeBar
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-37, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT AN OFFENDER'S TIME SERVED ON PROBATION OR POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION MAY NOT BE REDUCED WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL OF THE SENTENCING COURT; TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT THAT AN OFFENDER MAY BE CONFINED NO MORE THAN 21 DAYS FROM ADMISSION TO DETENTION UNTIL A REVOCATION HEARING IS HELD WHENEVER AN OFFENDER IS ARRESTED FOR AN ALLEGED VIOLATION OF PROBATION; TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT THAT A PROBATION REVOCATION CHARGE BE DISMISSED IF A REVOCATION HEARING IS NOT HELD WITHIN 30 DAYS OF A WARRANT BEING ISSUED; TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-40, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 47-7-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-37. (1) The period of
probation shall be fixed by the court, and may at any time be extended or
terminated by the court, or judge in vacation. Such period with any extension
thereof shall not exceed five (5) years, except that in cases of desertion
and/or failure to support minor children, the period of probation may be fixed
and/or extended by the court for so long as the duty to support such minor
children exists. The time served on probation or post-release supervision may * * *
not be reduced without prior
approval of the sentencing court.
(2) At any time during the period of probation, the court, or judge in vacation, may issue a warrant for violating any of the conditions of probation or suspension of sentence and cause the probationer to be arrested. Any probation and parole officer may arrest a probationer without a warrant, or may deputize any other officer with power of arrest to do so by giving him a written statement setting forth that the probationer has, in the judgment of the probation and parole officer, violated the conditions of probation. Such written statement delivered with the probationer by the arresting officer to the official in charge of a county jail or other place of detention shall be sufficient warrant for the detention of the probationer.
(3) Whenever an offender is
arrested on a warrant for an alleged violation of probation as herein provided,
the department shall hold an informal preliminary hearing within seventy-two
(72) hours of the arrest to determine whether there is reasonable cause to
believe the person has violated a condition of probation. A preliminary
hearing shall not be required when the offender is not under arrest on a
warrant or the offender signed a waiver of a preliminary hearing. The
preliminary hearing may be conducted electronically. * * *
(4) If a probationer or offender is subject to registration as a sex offender, the court must make a finding that the probationer or offender is not a danger to the public prior to release with or without bail. In determining the danger posed by the release of the offender or probationer, the court may consider the nature and circumstances of the violation and any new offenses charged; the offender or probationer's past and present conduct, including convictions of crimes and any record of arrests without conviction for crimes involving violence or sex crimes; any other evidence of allegations of unlawful sexual conduct or the use of violence by the offender or probationer; the offender or probationer's family ties, length of residence in the community, employment history and mental condition; the offender or probationer's history and conduct during the probation or other supervised release and any other previous supervisions, including disciplinary records of previous incarcerations; the likelihood that the offender or probationer will engage again in a criminal course of conduct; the weight of the evidence against the offender or probationer; and any other facts the court considers relevant.
(5) (a) The probation and
parole officer after making an arrest shall present to the detaining authorities
a similar statement of the circumstances of violation. The probation and
parole officer shall at once notify the court of the arrest and detention of
the probationer and shall submit a report in writing showing in what manner the
probationer has violated the conditions of probation. Within * * *
one
hundred eight (180) days of arrest and detention by warrant as herein
provided, the court shall cause the probationer to be brought before it and may
continue or revoke all or any part of the probation or the suspension of
sentence. If the court revokes probation for a technical violation, the court
shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical
violation center or a restitution center not to exceed ninety (90) days for the
first technical violation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for
the second technical violation. For the third technical violation, the court
may impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical
violation center or a restitution center for up to one hundred eighty (180)
days or the court may impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the
sentence. For the fourth and any subsequent technical violation, the court may
impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. The
period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this
section shall not be reduced in any manner.
(b) If the offender is not detained as a result of the warrant, the court shall cause the probationer to be brought before it within a reasonable time and may continue or revoke all or any part of the probation or the suspension of sentence, and may cause the sentence imposed to be executed or may impose any part of the sentence which might have been imposed at the time of conviction. If the court revokes probation for a technical violation, the court shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center or a restitution center not to exceed ninety (90) days for the first technical violation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second technical violation. For the third technical violation, the court may impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center or a restitution center for up to one hundred eighty (180) days or the court may impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. For the fourth and any subsequent technical violation, the court may impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. The period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this section shall not be reduced in any manner.
(c) If the court does
not hold a hearing or does not take action on the violation within * * * one
hundred eight (180) days, the offender shall be released from detention and
shall return to probation status. The court may subsequently hold a hearing
and may revoke probation or may continue probation and modify the terms and
conditions of probation. If the court revokes probation for a technical
violation, the court shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in
either a technical violation center operated by the department or a restitution
center not to exceed ninety (90) days for the first technical violation and not
to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second technical violation.
For the third technical violation, the court may impose a period of
imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center or a restitution
center for up to one hundred * * * eighty (180) days or the court may impose
the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. For the fourth and any
subsequent technical violation, the court may impose up to the remainder of the
suspended portion of the sentence. The period of imprisonment in a technical
violation center imposed under this section shall not be reduced in any manner.
(d) For an offender charged with a technical violation who has not been detained awaiting the revocation hearing, the court may hold a hearing within a reasonable time. The court may revoke probation or may continue probation and modify the terms and conditions of probation. If the court revokes probation for a technical violation the court shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center operated by the department or a restitution center not to exceed ninety (90) days for the first technical violation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second technical violation. For the third technical violation, the court may impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center or a restitution center for up to one hundred eighty (180) days or the court may impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. For the fourth and any subsequent technical violation, the court may impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. The period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this section shall not be reduced in any manner.
(6) If the probationer is arrested in a circuit court district in the State of Mississippi other than that in which he was convicted, the probation and parole officer, upon the written request of the sentencing judge, shall furnish to the circuit court or the county court of the county in which the arrest is made, or to the judge of such court, a report concerning the probationer, and such court or the judge in vacation shall have authority, after a hearing, to continue or revoke all or any part of probation or all or any part of the suspension of sentence, and may in case of revocation proceed to deal with the case as if there had been no probation. In such case, the clerk of the court in which the order of revocation is issued shall forward a transcript of such order to the clerk of the court of original jurisdiction, and the clerk of that court shall proceed as if the order of revocation had been issued by the court of original jurisdiction. Upon the revocation of probation or suspension of sentence of any offender, such offender shall be placed in the legal custody of the State Department of Corrections and shall be subject to the requirements thereof.
(7) Any probationer who removes himself from the State of Mississippi without permission of the court placing him on probation, or the court to which jurisdiction has been transferred, shall be deemed and considered a fugitive from justice and shall be subject to extradition as now provided by law. No part of the time that one is on probation shall be considered as any part of the time that he shall be sentenced to serve.
(8) The arresting officer, except when a probation and parole officer, shall be allowed the same fees as now provided by law for arrest on warrant, and such fees shall be taxed against the probationer and paid as now provided by law.
(9) The arrest, revocation and recommitment procedures of this section also apply to persons who are serving a period of post-release supervision imposed by the court.
* * *
( * * *10) The Department of Corrections
shall provide semiannually to the Oversight Task Force the number of warrants
issued for an alleged violation of probation or post-release supervision, the
average time between detention on a warrant and preliminary hearing, the
average time between detention on a warrant and revocation hearing, the number
of ninety-day sentences in a technical violation center issued by the court,
the number of one-hundred-twenty-day sentences in a technical violation center
issued by the court, the number of one-hundred-eighty-day sentences issued by
the court, and the number and average length of the suspended sentences imposed
by the court in response to a violation.
SECTION 2. Section 47-7-40, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-40. (1) The commissioner shall establish rules and regulations for implementing the earned-discharge program that allows offenders on probation and parole to reduce the period of supervision for complying with conditions of probation. With the approval of the sentencing court of each offender, the department shall have the authority to award earned-discharge credits to all offenders placed on probation, parole, or post-release supervision who are in compliance with the terms and conditions of supervision. An offender serving a Mississippi sentence for an eligible offense in any jurisdiction under the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision shall be eligible for earned-discharge credits under this section.
(2) For each full calendar month of compliance with the conditions of supervision, earned-discharge credits equal to the number of days in that month shall be deducted from the offender's sentence discharge date upon the approval of the sentencing court of the offender. Credits begin to accrue for eligible offenders after the first full calendar month of compliance supervision conditions. For the purposes of this section, an offender is deemed to be in compliance with the conditions of supervision if there was no violation of the conditions of supervision.
(3) No earned-discharge credits may accrue for a calendar month in which a violation report has been submitted, the offender has absconded from supervision, the offender is serving a term of imprisonment in a technical violation center, or for the months between the submission of the violation report and the final action on the violation report by the court or the board.
(4) With the approval of the sentencing court, earned-discharge credits shall be applied to the sentence within thirty (30) days of the end of the month in which the credits were earned. At least every six (6) months, an offender who is serving a sentence eligible for earned-discharge credits shall be notified of the current sentence discharge date.
(5) Once the combination of time served on probation, parole or post-release supervision, and earned-discharge credits satisfy the term of probation, parole, or post-release supervision, the board or sentencing court shall order final discharge of the offender. No less than sixty (60) days prior to the date of final discharge, the department shall notify the sentencing court and the board of the impending discharge.
(6) The department shall provide semiannually to the Oversight Task Force the number and percentage of offenders who qualify for earned discharge in one or more months of the year and the average amount of credits earned within the year.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.