New Interstate Compact Bench Book Available

The national office for the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision (ICAOS) recently published its new Bench Book for Judges. They asked me to pass it along. The new resource is available here. It covers the history of interstate compacts generally, a history of the ICAOS, and a description of how transfers and violations are handled under the Compact. The final chapter (which I wrote) covers liability and immunity considerations related to the Compact. My sense is that probation matters related to the Interstate Compact can be a little bit daunting—but only because they are unfamiliar. North Carolina’s laws related to the Compact are adopted in Article 4B of Chapter 148 of the General Statutes. Probationers who want to transfer supervision from North Carolina to another state, or who want to come from another state to be supervised here, must satisfy North Carolina’s laws and the ICAOS rules. The rules are available here. All felony offenders are eligible for transfer, but, under Rule 2.105, only certain misdemeanants are covered. A misdemeanor offender must have a sentence that includes one year or more of probation supervision, and must be under supervision for an offense that (1) caused “direct or threatened physical or psychological harm,” (2) involves the use or possession of a firearm, (3) was a second or subsequent DWI, or (4) requires registration as a sex offender. Under G.S. 148-65.7, North Carolina offenders seeking transfer to another state must pay a $250 transfer application fee to our state’s compact administrator in Raleigh, although [...]