FAQs on JRA

Questions related to the Justice Reinvestment Act keep flooding in. Lots of them have been addressed elsewhere on this blog (see our Justice Reinvestment Resource Page for a collection of everything that’s been written so far), but I thought it might be helpful to collect some of the frequently asked questions into a single post. Also, I’m happy to report that these questions and many others are addressed in my forthcoming book on the Justice Reinvestment Act. It is creatively titled The North Carolina Justice Reinvestment Act, and it is current through the 2012 legislative session—including several changes that will come into effect on December 1. Many of you will receive a free copy through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance. It will also be available for purchase. It will be out before the holidays so your shopping worries are over. Here are the FAQs. If others come to mind, post a comment and I’ll do my best to reply. 1. If a defendant’s alleged offense date for a crime is a range of dates that includes December 1, 2011, which sentencing law applies, pre– or post–Justice Reinvestment? When a crime has allegedly been committed over a range of dates both before and after December 1, 2011, the defendant generally should be sentenced under the law that results in the less severe sentence. See State v. Poston, 162 N.C. App. 642, 651 (2004) (applying that rule to a crime committed over a range of dates [...]