Many defendants are detained in jail while their trials wind their way through the courts. Depending on your situation, you might spend months in jail awaiting a verdict. If you are convicted, the time you have already spent in custody may be considered “time served.”
Credit for time served refers to how your time in pre-trial detention affects your final sentence. Typically, if you are held in pre-trial detention, that time is taken off your final sentence as “time served.” However, time served is not always easily calculated, especially when a defendant faces multiple concurrent or consecutive sentences. Your attorney can help you make sure that all your time served is properly credited.
Receive a free, confidential case assessment by calling our Salt Lake City criminal defense lawyers at Overson & Bugden at (801) 758-2287.
What is Credit for Time Served in a Utah Criminal Case?
When a defendant is arrested and charged with a crime, they may be detained in jail while their case is pending. For some, this means spending months or longer in jail before they are convicted. If they are convicted, their time in pre-trial detention may be counted as time served toward their sentence.
Pre-Conviction Custody
Credit for time served is largely based on a defendant’s time in pre-trial custody. Generally, pre-trial detention or pre-conviction custody begins after a defendant is arrested and taken into custody. If you are not released on bail, you may be detained for weeks, months, or longer.
Probation and Parole
Time served may also stem from your time on probation or parole. Time served may be credited to your sentence if you were held in custody in connection with a certain sentence while on probation or parole, and you are awaiting a hearing about alleged probation or parole violations.
House Arrest
Credit for time served may not be granted for house arrest or home confinement. If you are ordered to remain at home while awaiting a hearing or sentencing, that time may not be credited to your sentence as time served.
How is Credit for Time Served Calculated in a Utah Criminal Case?
Time served is not as simple as it might seem. Our Layton, UT criminal defense lawyers will work to make sure that your credit for time served is calculated correctly. If it is not, they should try to intervene.
Jurisdiction
An important part of determining time served is jurisdiction. Time served may be determined by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole under the Department of Corrections. The Board may not assess credit for time served in custody in another jurisdiction, such as another state or the federal government.
Relation to Your Sentence
Credit for time served must be related to the case and charges for which you are sentenced. If someone is serving time for a subsequent conviction while awaiting sentencing for a separate conviction, that time served may not be credited to the new sentence.
Concurrent or Consecutive Sentences
When multiple sentences run concurrently or consecutively, credit for time served may become complicated. In such cases, credit for time serve is calculated for each sentence separately.
When a sentence runs consecutively, only the time served attributable to that sentence may be credited to that sentence, and it begins only after the completion of any prior sentence. For concurrent sentences, credit for time served begins when the prison sentence is imposed.
FAQs About Credit for Time Served in Utah
What is Credit for Time Served?
Credit for time served refers to factoring a convicted defendant’s time in pre-trial detention into their final sentence. Whatever time you spent in pre-trial detention may be subtracted from your ultimately sentence.
How is Credit for Time Served Calculated?
Credit for time served may be calculated by subtracting your time in pre-trial detention from your final sentence. However, if a defendant receives more than one sentence, such as consecutive or concurrent sentences, time served is credited to each sentence separately.
Is Time Served Always Credited to a New Sentence?
Yes. If a defendant is currently serving a sentence for a previous conviction when they are sentence for a new offense, any time served for the new offense would not apply to the old sentence, only the new one. Similarly, time served related to an older offense may not be factored into a new sentence.
How Much Time Served May Be Credited to My Sentence?
However long you remain in pre-trial detention may be credited as time served. While many defendants do not spend more than a few months in pre-trial detention, some spend a year or more. Your time served is not limited. If the authorities try to cap your time served, tell your lawyer immediately.
When Will I Know How Much Time Served Will Be Credited to My Sentence?
You might not know how your time served will be credited toward your final sentence until we reach the sentencing phase of your trial. While we may have a good idea of how your time served should be credited, it is ultimately calculated by the Department of Corrections and ordered by the judge. If the authorities’ calculations are incorrect, your attorney can stand up for you.
What if My Time Served is Not Applied to My Current Sentence?
Time served may not always apply as you think it will. This is often the case when a defendant is sentenced for multiple convictions and receives different sentences for each one. If time served is not applied to your sentence, ask your lawyer for help immediately. If you are sentenced without any consideration for time served, your lawyer can help you appeal the sentence.
Get Legal Help from Our Utah Criminal Defense Attorneys
Receive a free, confidential case assessment by calling our West Valley City, UT criminal defense lawyers at Overson & Bugden at (801) 758-2287.