Time Served

Which of the following defendants may be sentenced to “time served” (choose all that apply)? A. A felony defendant with 5 months of jail credit sentenced to 6–17 months. B. A felony defendant with 7 months of jail credit sentenced to 6–17 months. C. A felony defendant with 9 months of jail credit sentenced to 6–17 months. D. A felony defendant with 18 months of jail credit sentenced to 6–17 months. The defendants in answer choices A and B may not be sentenced to time served. For felonies, a defendant must have jail credit in excess of his or her maximum sentence to receive a sentence to time served. Service of the minimum sentence is not enough. Under Structured Sentencing, the minimum is merely a floor for sentence reduction by earned time credits. G.S. 15A-1340.13(d). The defendant in choice A hasn’t even served the minimum, and the defendant in choice B has served the minimum but not the maximum. Neither may be sentenced to time served. Answer choice C is incorrect for the same reason as choices A and B (the defendant has not yet served his or her maximum), but there is a Justice Reinvestment wrinkle. The JRA added 9 months onto the maximum sentences for all Class F–I felonies committed on or after December 1, 2011. Under prior law, defendant C would have received a 6–8 month sentence (not 6–17 months), and 9 months of jail credit would have been enough for a sentence to time served. After the [...]