Opinion
Case No. 2:06-cr-083.
July 19, 2006
ORDER
The above defendant appeared before the Court for a probation revocation hearing on July 17, 2006. At the hearing, she admitted to several Grade C violations of her probation, the most significant of which was possession of a controlled substance. As the Court reads the applicable statute, revocation of probation and imposition of a term of imprisonment are mandatory under those circumstances. See 18 U.S.C. § 3565(b). The guideline range is three to nine months.
After considering arguments on the issue of the appropriate sentence, the Court concluded that the guideline range is appropriate and that there are no factors in this case which would suggest a term of imprisonment less than the minimum three months recommended by the guidelines. The defendant actually tested positive for use of controlled substances on the day that she was originally sentenced to probation, she has continued to use drugs after that date, and she rejected the assistance of the Probation Officer in entering into treatment. She also failed to report to her Probation Officer as required and was convicted of a new offense in state court.
The Probation Officer also recommended that defendant serve a period of time in a half-way house before re-entering the community. The Court agreed that such a condition of supervised release was appropriate in order to assist the defendant in dealing with her addiction. Consequently, a term of supervised release was imposed which included as a special condition the service of a four-month period in a half-way house. Other special conditions also included drug counseling or treatment at the direction of the Probation Officer and mental counseling or treatment at the direction of the Probation Officer.
Based upon the foregoing, the defendant's probation is revoked and she is sentenced as indicated above, which sentence will be reflected in the judgment and commitment entered by the Court.