Criminal Practice – Sentencing – Credit – Second Probation Revocation – Custody Pending Hearing

State v. Corkum (Lawyers Weekly No. 12-07-1167, 14 pp.) (Douglas McCullough, J.) Appealed from Guilford County Superior Court (Anderson D. Cromer, J.) N.C. App.

Holding: Defendant served part of his prison sentence after violating his probation. Sometime after his release, defendant was held in custody for eight days pending another probation revocation hearing. When the remainder of his sentence was activated, he should have been given credit for those eight days.

We reverse the trial court’s order refusing to award the confinement credit.

Although defendant has already been released, this situation is capable of repetition yet evading review; moreover, it is in the public’s interest that we resolve this issue.

Defendant met all the requirements of G.S. § 15-196.1 for a sentencing credit.

The state argues that § 15-196.1 and related statutes require that a sentence be imposed as a condition precedent to an award of confinement credit. We agree. However, the sentence required to be imposed is the original sentence imposed as a result of defendant’s guilty plea. It is not a new sentence.

Although we find no case directly on point involving the award of confinement credit following revocation of post-release supervision, case law concerning the award of confinement credit following probation revocation supports our interpretation of the relevant statutes.