(Editor’s note: Jamie Markham is a co-author of this post.) Level A1 DWI. The General Assembly created Aggravated Level One sentencing for misdemeanor impaired driving in 2011. See S.L. 2011-191 (enacting G.S. 20-179(f3)). Level A1 sentences require a term of imprisonment that includes a minimum term of 12 months and a maximum term of not more than 36 months. Unlike defendants sentenced for lower levels of impaired driving, a defendant sentenced under Level A1 is not eligible for parole. Such defendants are instead subject to a term of post-release supervision to commence four months before the end of the maximum imposed term of imprisonment. They also are subject to the general provision in G.S. 20-179(p)(2) that requires a defendant to “serve the mandatory minimum period of imprisonment.” Back when the law was passed, we wrote (here and here) about the difficulties associated with applying each of these sentencing requirements to Level A1 sentences while at the same time awarding good time credit pursuant to Division of Adult Correction policy. For sentences of certain durations, we noted that it would be a challenge to square the early release for post-release supervision with the law’s mandatory minimum period of incarceration—especially if good time credit would effectively cut the sentence in half. Given these ambiguities, we weren’t sure how DAC would administer the sentences. Today, more than 200 inmates are serving Level A1 sentences. We thought we’d share what we know about how those sentences are playing out in practice. Good Time Credit. Good [...]
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