charminglane
Sea Witch
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- May 5, 2009
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I read that whole piece with the voice of Law & Order SVU.In the criminal court system, while there are many notable differences between prosecutions in State District Court and being prosecuted in US District or the Federal Court system, one thing that remains the same is that the decision for the placement of the convicted respectfully rests with either the State Department of Corrections (DOC) or the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BPO).
For example, in the federal system, sentencing is not immediate upon conviction but is delayed subject to the Court receiving a presentence investigation report (PIR) by a probation officer to assist the Judge in determining an appropriate sentence. On the date of sentencing, a
Judge sentences a defendant “to the custody of the attorney general.”
That means the person is being transferred from the judicial branch of government to the executive branch of government. The attorney general oversees the Bureau of Prisons, and the Bureau of Prisons has ultimate discretion on where a person serves the sentence.
Although a defendant may request a specific institution, and the judge may recommend a specific institution, the Bureau of Prisons is not bound to follow the judge’s recommendation.
In the case of LS, Judge Werner, a State District Court Judge, sentenced the defendant to the Department of Corrections (DOC) but rejected the defense's request to recommend LS be housed at the medical prison ward known as San Carlos.
As a convicted Colorado inmate, LS will leave the county jail for the Women's Department of Corrections Reception Facility in Denver where she will be evaluated, assessed, and assigned a security classification, and DOC will determine the facility that best matches her level of risk and other needs.
Although the idea of a recommendation by Judge Werner might have made LS feel better, it certainly wouldn't have helped her cause for preferred placement.
IME, Colorado isn't a state where the Court delays imposing the sentence subject to receipt of a presentencing investigation report (PIR) such as what happens in the federal court system, and therefore really has no legitimate basis to make a recommendation.
However, there are indeed some State Courts that delay the sentencing of newly convicted defendants for a PIR by probation including my recent experience in Iowa. But it's also not been my experience with an Iowa judge wanting to make a recommendation on an inmate's placement in DOC. JMO
Thank you for this information, Seattle.