Unsupervised Probation

Thousands of defendants are sentenced to unsupervised probation each year. They are often first offenders who have been convicted of not-so-serious crimes, so you don’t read much about them in the newspaper or slip opinions from the appellate courts. But there are some aspects of unsupervised probation that are a little tricky, so I decided to write about them today. The very idea of unsupervised probation is a relatively new concept in North Carolina. It was created in 1977 to replace the prior practice of suspending a sentence without probation. Official Commentary to G.S. 15A-1341. In general, all of the rules of Article 82 of Chapter 15A that apply to supervised probation apply to unsupervised probation too. G.S. 15A-1341(b). Also, a person who commits a new crime while on unsupervised probation is eligible for the additional prior record point possible under G.S. 15A-1340.14(b)(7), just like a supervised probationer. Under Structured Sentencing, unsupervised probation is only allowed as part of a sentence to community punishment. (Although even in community cases, unsupervised probation is prohibited for defendants on probation for a reportable sex crime or an offense involving the physical, mental, or sexual abuse of a minor. G.S. 15A-1343(b2).) An intermediate punishment must include supervised probation—at least at the outset. G.S. 15A-1340.11(6). A judge may later transfer a person from supervised to unsupervised probation. Under G.S. 15A-1343(g) the judge may authorize the probation officer to transfer a person to unsupervised probation after he or she has satisfied any monetary obligations. The same statute [...]