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A judge has a great deal of discretion, or choice, as to
what conditions may be placed on a sentence, and
certainly, the desires of the victim in that regard,
are considered at the time of sentencing.
In deciding a sentence, a judge must consider
several things.
The judge should consider the nature of the crime,
specifically the details of the crime, the character of
the defendant, the impact that this particular crime
has had on the victim and on the community as a whole.
The judge looks at the rehabilitative needs of the
defendant and the judge also must obviously consider what
the judge is allowed by law to impose as a sentence in
terms of a statutory maximum.
Ms. Doe, is there anything you wish to say before I
impose sentence?
No your honor.
In imposing sentence, I consider the fact that you
have a prior instance in which you engaged in the
same kind of behavior, and despite the fact that you
were under supervision at the time and given anger
management classes, you've made the same choice again
to victimize another person because of your anger.
In this case, the victim suffered injuries.
Therefore, I do not believe a sentence of a probation is
appropriate in this case because it would denigrate
the seriousness of this offense.
Therefore, I impose a sentence of 6 to 23 months
in the Bucks County Prison.
Conditions of this sentence are that you have no contact
with the victim, that you undergo a mental health
evaluation, and abide by any recommendations
of that evaluation.
You have 10 days to file for reconsideration of sentence
and 30 days to appeal my sentence to the
Superior Court.
Those motions must be filed in writing with the Court.
Whether or not a defendant goes to a county jail or a
state penitentiary is determined by 2 things.
It's determined by the length of the sentence and
the judge's decision and by that I mean this: if a
defendant is sentenced to less than 2 years as a
maximum sentence, the defendant automatically goes
to a county jail, and the judge has sole control over
what happens to that defendant.
If the sentence is less than 5 years, then a judge can
decide that the defendant should serve that sentence
in the county or it should be served in the state.
One of the sentences a judge may impose or give a
defendant is probation.
Probation means that a defendant will be supervised
by a probation officer.
If a defendant is on probation, they must live
where they have been directed to live, that is,
they can't leave the area without permission.
The defendant may be required to complete certain
kinds of treatment.
The defendant may be asked to be tested, will be told
they have to be tested routinely for drugs or alcohol.
The defendant may be limited in terms of what contact
they may be able to have with a victim or a
particular area.
So any number of conditions can be placed on the
defendant, and the defendant will be required to complete
them during the period of probation.