Denial of Time Served Credit Violates Vermont Law
Denial of Time Served Credit Violates Vermont Law
by Mark Wilson
On August 29, 2014, the Vermont Supreme Court held that an amended sentencing order denying time served credit violated state law.
In June 2013, Roger Perry pleaded no contest to two burglary charges in exchange for a total prison term of six months. The following month, Perry was sentenced to six months on the burglary convictions, consecutive to an unrelated drug sentence. However, the court ordered the immediate execution of the burglary sentence and directed the Department of Corrections (DOC) to grant Perry credit for time served according to law.
The DOC credited Perry with 228 days of time served on his unrelated drug conviction pursuant to 13 V.S.A. § 7032. As a result, he was incarcerated only eight days of his six-month sentence for the burglaries.
Pursuant to 13 V.S.A. § 7042(b), the state moved the sentencing court for an amended sentencing order that denied credit for time served. The court granted the motion, concluding that no credit should be awarded for time served.
Perry appealed but the state moved to dismiss his appeal as moot, arguing that he had already completed his sentence.
The Vermont Supreme Court disagreed, holding that the appeal was not moot because Perry was still serving the probationary portion of his sentence. The Court then reversed the amended sentencing order, concluding that it violated 13 V.S.A. § 7032 by improperly denying Perry “credit for time served to which he was due.” See: Vermont v. Perry, 2014 VT 102, 106 A.3d 936 (Vt. 2014).
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Related legal case
Vermont v. Perry
| Year | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 2014 VT 102, 106 A.3d 936 (Vt. 2014) |
| Level | State Supreme Court |
| Conclusion | Bench Verdict |