Bill Text: DE HB285 | 2015-2016 | 148th General Assembly | Draft

Delaware House Bill 285 (Prior Session Legislation)

Draft

Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 11 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Probation And Sentencing Procedures.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-10 - Introduced and Assigned to Corrections Committee in House [HB285 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2015-HB285-Draft.html

SPONSOR:	Rep. Keeley & Rep. J. Johnson & Sen. Henry
	Reps. Baumbach, Kowalko, Mulrooney, B. Short; Sens. Ennis, McDowell, Peterson, Townsend

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

148th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 285

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROBATION AND SENTENCING PROCEDURES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1.Amend Section 4333, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§4333 Period of probation or suspension of sentence; termination.

(i) The Department shall have the authority without leave of the court to reclassify any offender sentenced to probation at Accountability Levels ~~I, II or III~~ III or II to decreased Accountability Levels II or I, provided that the Department shall first evaluate the offender using an objective classification tool designed to assist in the determination of the appropriate level of probation. Offenders shall be reevaluated and reclassified periodically as the Department deems necessary and appropriate.The Department shall have the authority, with leave of the court, to reclassify any offender sentenced to probation at Accountability Levels I or II to increased Accountability Levels II or III, provided that the offender has failed to comply with a condition of probation and further provided that the Department shall first evaluate the offender using an objective classification tool designed to assist in the determination of the appropriate level of probation.

SYNOPSIS

Under current Delaware law the Department of Corrections has the power to increase or decrease a probationer's Accountability Level between I, II and III without leave of the court.This bill would allow the Department to continue to lower the Accountability Level without leave of the court where it determines an offender is sufficiently low risk, but would require the Department to seek leave where it seeks to increase the supervision level without filing a violation of probation.The courts sentence offenders with full knowledge of the facts of an offender's current crime, criminal history, and plea conditions at sentencing.Where the court has made an informed decision regarding the appropriate supervision level, it is inappropriate to override the court's discretion and increase the terms of sentence without leave.