After a judge places a defendant on community supervise, the judge must impose conditions of the supervision. The Code of Criminal Procedure contains a lengthy list of available mandatory and discretionary conditions, and further permits a judge to specify any additional reasonable condition, regardless of whether it is specified by an express provision of the law, if the condition is designed to:
- protect or restore the community
- protect or restore the victim
- punish, rehabilitate or reform the defendant
Conditions of supervision may be the subject of a plea agreement. The state may recommend that the judge impose or not impose various conditions. If a defendant agrees to or fails to raise an objection to a particular condition of supervision, he may not later challenge the condition on direct appeal, even if it might be unlawful.
By approving a plea bargain regarding a particular condition of supervision, a judge is not precluded from imposing other conditions. If the plea agreement is silent regarding the imposition of additional conditions of supervision, the judge may impose any other reasonable ones without violating the plea agreement.
Creative Conditions
The state may agree to recommend that the judge impose any reasonable condition of community supervision, regardless of whether the condition is expressly listed in the law.
Confinement
As a condition of community supervision, a judge may order a defendant to submit to confinement in a prison, state jail, or in his home under electronic monitoring. Such conditions may be the subject of a plea agreement.
Prison
There are only three circumstances under which the state may recommend , as part of a plea bargain, a specific period of confinement in prison (within the range permitted by statue) as a condition of community supervision. Under two of these circumstances, a judge must impose a specified minimum period of confinement; under one of the circumstances, a judge may impose a period of confinement within a specified range.
- First, if a defendant is convicted of intoxication manslaughter and placed on post conviction community supervision, the state may recommend that the defendant serve any period not less than 120 days in prison as a condition of supervision. The state may not recommend against imposing any confinement, because the statue requires the judge to impose a minimum of 120 days as a confinement.
- Second, if the defendant is convicted of a felony other than murder in which there is an affirmative finding he intentionally selected the victim baed primarily on bias or prejudice against a group, the set may recommend confinement in prison not less than once day or more than one year. The state may not recommend against imposing any confinement, because the statute requires the judge to impose some period of confinement in prison.
- Third, if a defendant is convicted of a second degree felony or higher in which there is an affirmative finding and then placed on community supervision, the state may recommend he serve 60-12o days in prison as a condition of supervision.
State Jail
If a defendant is placed on community supervision for a state jail felony for a state jail felony, the state may agree to recommend the the judge order or not order a period of confinement in a state jail within the range specified by law. For an offense committed after December 31, 1995, the following ranges apply:
- 90-180 days in state jail; or
- 90-365 days in sate jail if a defendant is convicted of delivery of a controlled substance (penalty group 1, 1A, or 2) or marijuana.
County Jail
If a defendant is placed on community supervision for a felony or a class A or B misdemeanor offense, the state may agree to recommend the judge order or not order a period of confinement, in one block or multiple blocks of time, in county jail within the range specified by law:
- Class A or B misdemeanor: up to 30 days
- Felony (other than state jail felony): up to 180 days
- State jail felony: up to 30 days if no prior felony conviction; or up to 60 days if prior felony conviction.
For a defendant placed on post conviction supervision for an intoxication offense, the sate may not agree to recommend no confinement or confinement less than a certain period of condition of supervisions, because the state mandates a minim period of confinement:
- Driving While Intoxicated (second offense): 72 continuous hours; 5 days if prior DWI committed within 5 years of new offense.
- Driving While Intoxicated (third offense): 10 days
- Intoxication Assault: 30 days
- Intoxication Manslaughter: 120 days
Contact : Collin County Criminal Lawyer
Collin County criminal lawyer Constantine Anagnostis dedicates his practice to people who are facing criminal charges, with a primary emphasis on DWI, Drug Offenses, Expunction & Nondisclosure Agreements, and Occupational Driver’s License Issues. Collin County criminal lawyer Constantine G. Anagnostis understands the law, procedures, and penalties pertaining to criminal law, and will aggressively fight to protect your rights. Collin County criminal lawyer Constantine Anagnostis provides the utmost personal dedication to each and every case, and truly cares about his clients. You may call 817-229-0319 to schedule a free consultation, or submit a sample case form. At DFW Criminal Lawyers, L.L.C., we look forward to helping you.
DFW Criminal Lawyers, L.L.C. serves clients in all of Collin County, including: Frisco, Texas, Plano, Texas, Prosper, Texas, Allen, Texas, McKinney, Texas, Anna, Texas, Wylie, Texas, Fairview, Texas, Melissa, Texas, Murphy, Texas, Celina, Texas, Lucas, Texas, and Hebron, Texas. For cases in Dallas county, please click here.
