As a criminal defense attorney who practices law in Los Angeles, it is my job to keep up with changes to the California criminal laws. I have a duty to not only know about criminal law and the changes that occur to it but also know how that criminal law is applied. I have been practicing law as a criminal defense attorney since 1998 and if I only knew the criminal law as it was then, I would not be doing my clients a service. The criminal law is an ever changing sphere of codes that adjust according to the times.
One of the major topics of discussion amongst my criminal defense attorney colleagues is the current realignment that is going on within California's prison and jail system.
The basic gist of it is as follows: California's prison system was overcrowded and conditions became inhumane so the United States Supreme court ordered California to make changes. Those changes are many are best left for another blog post at a later time. What I want to talk about here is the changes made to the custody credits earned in California while a person is doing time in the county jail.
CREDITS EARNED IN COUNTY JAIL
Recently, I wrote a blog about how custody credits are earned both in the county jail and in the California state prison. It is still accurate as to everything except for credit time served in county jail. That has changed and now benefits the person doing the custody time.
FOUR BY FOUR CREDIT FOR TIME SERVED IN COUNTY JAIL
Because making it simple is not what the California state legislature does, a new system was created as to how custody credits in county jail are earned. Basically though for every four days a person serves in county jail, they will get credit for four more. Thus a total of 8 days is earned for every four spent.
If a person serves less than four days, no deduction will be given and they will get credit for the actual days that they served.
The more complicated way to describe it is for every four days a person serves in county jail they will get two days of “good time” or credit for good behavior. In addition to that, the person serving four days will get an additional two days credit for “work time” for doing work while in custody. Thus they get credit for a total of 4 days in addition to the 4 days they actually serve, for a total of 8.
This law applies only to cases where the crime that a person is convicted for occurred after October 1, 2011.
How long this law will stay in effect and when it will be changed is hard to tell. Keep checking back to this blog for updates on this and other changes in the criminal laws.
A CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY WILL GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS AND DEFEND YOUR RIGHTS!
Being accused of a crime and having to face possible time in custody can be a nerve racking endeavor. For every answer that a person gets from his or her friends or relatives, more questions arise. That is why the best thing that you can do for yourself or a loved one who is facing criminal charges is to contact a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who will help guide you through the process and defends your rights and freedom. FOR A FREE NO OBLIGATION CONSULTATION, CALL US 818 325-0570 OR CONTACT US HERE
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