Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

“Community corrections” is a general term that basically encompasses most forms of criminal punishment that do not involve incarceration. For many defendants, a community corrections sentence is a godsend, allowing them to avoid incarceration and instead serve out their sentences by doing some sort of pretrial diversion, halfway house, rehabilitation program, or some other form of non-incarcerated activity. However, placement in community corrections programs is often accompanied by a set of restrictions that an individual must follow in order to remain in the community corrections program.

One primary emphasis of any community corrections program is that the offender remains close to home or, in some cases, at home at all times. This achieves a dual purpose of making sure the offender is surrounded by the support system of his family and friends that can help him avoid further criminal conduct while also allowing the defendant to be monitored easily as his movement is restricted as a punishment measure. While some community corrections alternatives, such as house arrest, may not sound like fun, they are definitely preferable to being incarcerated. As such, defendants should obey carefully the restrictions imposed on their community corrections sentences so as not to lose the privilege of such a sentence.

In State v. McDonald, the defendant was sentenced to an eight-year probated sentence of which house arrest was a restriction. While on house arrest, the defendant left his home without permission on several occasions, which he testified was to care for his ailing mother. However, the court also learned that he had frequented several different locations and was actually unable to be found for certain periods of time during his house arrest. The court thus revoked the defendant’s community corrections privileges and ordered him to serve the rest of his sentence in confinement. Tennesseans facing criminal charges would be well-advised to consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney about what happens both during and after the trial process in order to avoid a similar result.

Source: (State v. McDonald, 35 TAM 15-37, 2/11/10, Nashville, Welles, 4 pages.)