Substance Abuse Treatment Isn’t Medical or Psychiatric Treatment for Probation Purposes

A special purpose extension of probation is permitted only for certain specified purposes. According to a case decided earlier this week, substance abuse treatment isn’t one of them. I covered the basics of probation extensions here, and in video form here. As noted in those posts, there are two types of probation extensions: I call them ordinary extensions under G.S. 15A-1344(d), and special purpose extensions under G.S. 15A-1342 or G.S. 15A-1343.2. Through ordinary extensions probation can be extended out to 5 years. Special purposes extensions allow extension by up to 3 years beyond the original period, which could carry past 5 years if the original period were long enough at the outset. But, as I noted above, that sort of extension can be done only for certain purposes specified in the General Statutes. Which brings us to State v. Peed. In Peed, the defendant was sentenced to 30 months of supervised probation in August 2013. In February 2016, just before his probation was set to expire, a judge extended his probation by 12 months. The extension was styled as a special purpose extension under G.S. 15A-1342(a) or G.S. 15A-1343.2(d). Those two statutes say essentially the same thing: that extension under them is allowed only when (1) the defendant consents, (2) the extension is ordered in the last six months of the original period of probation, and (3) the extension is ordered “to allow the defendant to continue medical or psychiatric treatment ordered as a condition of probation.” The modification order extending [...]