Sentencing:
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Senate Bill 64- Sentence modification:
- Courts must advise a defendant, before accepting a guilty plea, that the court will be bound by terms of a plea agreement both at the time of sentencing and with respect to sentence modification. Provides that a court may not reduce the sentence if it was not authorized by the plea agreement. The prohibition to include a waiver of the right to sentence modification in a plea agreement does mean that a person cannot waive the right to have a court modify a sentence in a manner contrary to the plea agreement.
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Senate Bill 301- Criminal history checks for home health workers:
- An expanded criminal history check may be used instead of certain background checks and criminal history checks for home health care workers. Such history check cannot include certain criminal history and it must meet the division of aging’s criminal history requirements.
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House Bill 1034- Home detention matters:
- Sometimes a condition of probation consists of a period of home detention. One of the new changes implies that this period must not necessarily be of 60 days. Therefore, a court can approve activities for an offender that do not require them to be confined to their home at all times. However, offenders must maintain a working telephone, cellular telephone, or other wireless or cellular communications device in their home as a condition of being on home detention.
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House Bill 1057- Pretrial diversion:
- The initial user fee amount for a diversion agreement involving a misdemeanor is $50, and the amount will increase up to $75 when it involves a felony. Courts can impose on a person an additional program fee or cost that is reasonably related to the person’s rehabilitation. Monthly user fee cannot be collected beyond the maximum length of a possible sentence.
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House Bill 1328- Bail issues:
- Murder is not bailable if the state proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the proof is evident or the presumption strong.
If you have any questions about your case or how the new laws may impact your situation give our criminal defense attorneys a call at Banks & Brower 24/7 at (317) 870-0019 or email us at info@banksbrower.com