It’s very uncommon to appeal a sentence successfully, unless the judge does something really egregious. Therefore, you must get this right the first time. Don’t take this lightly and assume you’ll receive the same deal your friend did.
Can People Have a “Grace” Time Period Before Going to Jail After Sentencing?
Typically, if you are sentenced to jail, you go to jail right immediately, at the time of sentencing. However, it is within the judge’s discretion to give you time to report to jail. Most judges won’t do that, and you usually won’t know until the time of sentencing.
What Sort of Crimes Result in Prison?What’s the Difference Between the Prison and a County Jail?
Any sentence that results in more than one year of confinement goes to the prison. Therefore, you’ll do any jail time in the county jail, as long as it’s one year or less.
If your sentencing is more than a year, then you go to prison.Sometimes, the cases that go to prison can be simple retail frauds with multiple priors. However, sometimes in prison, people will have real serious criminal records, with things like murder, breaking and entering, home invasion, armed robbery, weapons charges, drug possession, drug dealing, manufacture, delivery, etc.
Thusly, prison is filled with a combination of serious crimes and people who have just committed one too many not-so-serious crimes.
Is it Possible to Avoid Prison and Reduce Your Charge to County Jail?
Absolutely! It happens all the time during the negotiation process. This is specifically part of the plea bargain process.
Part of the process of fighting the case is trying to minimize the damage. Thusly, keeping people in county jail instead of prison happens all the time. We can save them a lot of time, as well.
Is Jail Sometimes a Better Option than Paying Fines?
For some people, yes. However, other people can’t stand the idea of doing any jail time. For others, they’re basically saving more money through doing jail time than they would out in the real world, doing their real job.
What Sort of Reaction Have You Seen Clients Exhibit Once They’re Sentenced?
Some people definitely get scared straight and turn their lives around. Others, especially if they have serious drug problems, will slip back to old habits and get back in trouble.
How Do Judges View Drug Users or Individuals Possessing Drugs?
They don’t view one group more harshly, but they only have so much tolerance for those who keep coming back for using. They just punish them. Sometimes, they figure the best thing to do is lock them up and allow their brain to dry out and rewire.
Therefore, this just depends on the judge, on the court, which county you’re in, and how crowded the jails are.
However, they don’t treat users worse than dealers. Many of the dealers who come in are not really big-time dealers. They’re small-time dealers who just sell to support their own habits. Thusly, everything is unique.
For more information on Post-Sentencing Options, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you’re seeking by calling (248) 451-2200 today.