Shock Community Supervision

This type of community supervision refers to the continuing jurisdiction a judge has after sentencing an offender to jail or prison. After a judge or jury sentences an offender to prison for a felony or jail for a misdemeanor, the judge retains jurisdiction over the defendant for 180 days from the date the sentence actually begins. Judges retain jurisdiction over State Jail felons for the entire time they are incarcerated. During this 180-day period, or during the period of incarceration for State Jail felons, the judge may suspend the sentence and place an eligible defendant on community supervision. If otherwise eligible for regular community supervision, misdemeanor offenders are eligible for shock supervision, and as long as a felony offender is eligible for regular supervision, one for whom the original sentence was no longer than ten years, who has not been previously incarcerated for a felony offense, and who has not committed an offense that prevents placement under supervision, the offender is eligible for shock supervision. Once an offender has served no more than 180 days of the sentence or any time during the sentence for a State Jail felon, a motion can be made by the defendant, the prosecutor, or the judge to bench warrant, or bring the offender back before the judge, for possible suspension of the sentence. If the offender has served the term without problem for the jail or prison and the judge believes the best interest of society will be served by placing the offender under community supervision, further execution of the sentence may be suspended and a term of community supervision imposed with terms and conditions as in other community supervision cases. Offenders are eligible for the State boot camp program if they are 17 years of age or older, but younger than 26 years of age and physically and mentally capable of participating in a program that requires rigorous physical activity, are not convicted of a state jail felony or misdemeanor offenses, and are otherwise eligible for placement under community supervision, by not being convicted of a capital murder offense, for example. After a judge sentences an offender to prison, it may be recommended that the person participate in the state boot camp program. The court retains jurisdiction over the defendant for 90 days after the date on which the offender arrives in a state boot camp. After 75 days, and before the expiration of 90 days, the judge may suspend further imposition of the sentence and place the offender on community supervision. If the judge does not choose to place the offender under community supervision, the offender is placed in the regular prison population to serve the remainder of the sentence. Violations of the conditions of shock community supervision are treated as are those for regular community supervision, and may result in a motion to revoke supervision being filed and the offender's sentence being revoked for a term up to the initial penitentiary or jail term.