As we talked about on the blog not long ago, your fate isn’t decided the moment that the judge or the jury reads the guilty verdict. You will still get to make your case at sentencing, and it’s possible that you may be able to earn a downward durational or a dispositional departure from the standard sentencing guidelines. We’ve already talked about downward durational departures on the blog, so today we’re going to focus on dispositional departures and how you may be able to avoid jail time by seeking one.
Downward Dispositional Departures In Minnesota
In our related blog on downward durational sentencing departures, we explained how that type of departure allows a person to serve less time than the standard amount for the specific crime in question. A dispositional departure also helps the defendant at sentencing, but instead of affecting how much time will be served, it focuses on how that time will be served.
In a felony case, a defendant and their legal team may request a downward dispositional departure at sentencing, which asks the judge to stay the execution of jail time and instead impose a:
- Stay of Execution
- Stay of Imposition
- Stay of Adjudication
You can follow this link to learn more about each of those types of stays, but essentially it asks the judge to avoid sentencing the defendant to jail and instead requests that their jail sentence be avoided if the defendant can follow strict guidelines, similar in nature to how probation works. For example, an individual facing three years in prison may push for a dispositional departure and request that home monitoring and regular chemical dependency evaluations be used as an alternative to traditional prison sentencing.
Of course, the idea of avoiding jail time seems appealing to any individual facing a felony conviction, so it’s not something that the court takes lightly, nor is it easy to earn from the judge. Typically, dispositional departures are only reserved for specific defendants who would be clearly better off serving their debt to society in other ways. While punishment for the act is important, so to is the ability to ensure that an individual charged with a felony gets the help they need to avoid committing similar serious crimes in the future. The public is much better off if a violent offender serves time on house arrest while simultaneously getting the help they need for substance abuse or related trauma so that they can make positive changes in their life going forward rather than spending a longer time in jail and eventually being released back into society without any of the tools to make better decisions going forward.
Factors That Help Earn A Dispositional Departure
The judge will take a look at a number of different factors when considering a dispositional departure, and they are quite similar to the factors analyzed in the durational departure. Some of those factors include:
- Defendant’s age
- Their role in the crime
- The severity of their crime compared to similar felonies
- Their remorse during trial
- History of drug or alcohol use if relevant to the crime
- Cooperation and attitude in court
- Previous criminal history
- Likelihood they’d succeed in alternative sentencing
Your attorney can attempt to make a case for a dispositional departure at sentencing, but know that you’re not just going to get away with a slap on the wrist. If granted, you could still serve part of your sentence in jail, or you may be ordered to house arrest, probation or chemical dependency evaluations, as well as required participation in victim impact panels and drug/alcohol monitoring. One step out of line and your original sentence may be invoked, so should you be granted this opportunity, don’t squander it.
For more information about pursuing a sentencing departure, or to talk to an attorney about your legal options, reach out to Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm today at (952) 224-2277.
