42 Pa. C.S.A. § 9756

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Title 42 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Annotated § 9756 Sentence of total confinement (a) General rule - In imposing a sentence of total confinement the court shall at the time of sentencing specify any maximum period up to the limit authorized by law and whether the sentence shall commence in a correctional or other appropriate institution. (b) Minimum sentence - The court shall impose a minimum sentence of confinement which shall not exceed one-half of the maximum sentence imposed. (c) Prohibition of parole - Except in the case of murder in the first degree, the court may impose a sentence to imprisonment without the right to parole only when: (1) a summary offense is charged; (2) sentence is imposed for nonpayment of fines or costs, or both, in which case the sentence shall specify the number of days to be served. (3) the maximum term or terms of imprisonment imposed on one or more indictments to run consecutively or concurrently total less that 30 days.

42 Pa. C.S.A. § 9757

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Title 42 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Annotated § 9757 Consecutive sentences of total confinement for multiple offenses Whenever the court determines that a sentence should be served consecutively to one being then imposed by the court, or to one previously imposed, the court shall indicate the minimum sentence to be served for the total of all offenses with respect to which sentence is imposed. Such minimum sentence shall not exceed one-half of the maximum sentence imposed.

61 Pa. C.S.A. § 316

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Title 61 Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated § 316 Application for release when minimum sentence exceeds one-half maximum Any convict serving any sentence in a State penitentiary, the minimum of which sentence exceeds one-half the maximum sentence, shall be eligible to apply for release on parole, under present existing parole laws or any hereinafter passed, when said convict has served or will have served one-half of the maximum sentence thereof. 1931, June 22, P.L.E. 864, No. 280, § 1.

204 Pa. CODE 303.1

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SECTION I SENTENCING GUIDELINES 204 Pa. Code §§303.1 - 303.9 Effective April 25, 1988 §303.l. Guideline sentencing standards. (a) The court shall consider this chapter in determining the appropriate sentence for felonies and misdemeanors. (b) A Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing Guideline Sentence Form shall be completed at the court's direction and shall be made a part of the record no later than 20 days after the date of each sent sentencing, and a copy shall be sent to the Pennsylvania Commission of Sentencing. (c) Suspended sentences are deemed to be departures from the guidelines except when the appropriate guideline sentence range permits a nonconfinement sentence. (d) These guidelines shall take effect on April 25, 1988, and shall apply to all offenses committed on or after that date. Amendments to the guidelines shall apply to all offenses committed on or after the date the amendment becomes part of the guidelines. (e) The Commission recognizes the difficulties in setting sentences in certain cases. These include, but are not limited to, major drug trafficking; economic crime; white-collar crime; organized crime; and offenses in which the defendant abused his position of trust, public office, or fiduciary obligation to facilitate the commission of the offense. These crimes may warrant a sentence more severe than otherwise suggested in this chapter. The Commission is also aware that the guidelines do not consider such factors as the defendant's cooperation in the apprehension or prosecution of other offenders. Under such circumstances, the defendant may warrant a sentence less severe than suggested in this chapter. (f) This chapter does not apply to sentences imposed as a result of probation revocation. (g) Fines and restitution. (i) Fines and restitution, as provided by law, may he added to any guideline sentence. (ii) A fine, within the limits established by law, shall be considered by the court when the defendant is convicted of 35 P-S. §780-113(a)(i), (14) or (30), and the drug involved 2 or more grams of any of the following: a controlled substance or counterfeit substance classified in schedule I or II and which is a narcotic; phencyclidine, methamphetamine, or cocaine, including the isomers, salts, compounds, salts of isomers, or derivatives of phencyclidine, methamphetamine, or cocaine; or is one thousand pounds or more of marijuana. Such fine shall be of an amount that is at least sufficient to exhaust the assets utilized in, and the proceeds obtained by the defendant from, the illegal possession, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances. Such fine shall not include assets concerning which the attorney for the commonwealth has filed a forfeiture petition or concerning which he has given notice to the court of his intent to file a forfeiture petition. (h) In every case in which the court imposes a sentence for a felony or misdemeanor, the court shall make as a part of the record and disclose in open court at the time of sentencing a statement of the reason or reasons for the sentence imposed. In every case where the court imposes a sentence outside the sentencing guidelines the court shall provide a contemporaneous written statement of the reason or reasons for the deviation from this chapter. i (i) When the guideline sentence exceeds that permitted by 18 Pa. CS. §§ 1103 and 1104 (relating to sentence of imprisonment for felony and misdemeanors) and 42 Pa. CS. § 9755(b) and § 9756(b) (relating to sentence of partial and total confinement) or other applicable statute setting maximum term of confinement, then the statutory limit is the guideline sentence.

GUIDELINE IMPLEMENTATION MANUAL page 83 Persons whose maximum term of confinement is at least two years, but less than five years; may he confined either under the jurisdiction of the Department of Correction or in the county jail, as the sentencing judge directs. [42 Pa. C.S. §9762]. Persons whose maximum term of confinement is less than two years arc confined in the county jail [42 Pa. CS. §9762]. The sentencing guidelines do not contain any provision or limitation on the place of confinement. LENGTH OF CONFINEMENT Except where the statute relating to an offense specifically provides otherwise, the following maximum lengths of confinement are permitted by 18 Pa. C.S. §§1102-1105: 1) for murder of the first degree, life imprisonment, or death; 2) for murder of the second degree, life imprisonment; 3) for a felony I, not more than 20 years, 4) for a felony II, not more than 10 years; 5) for a felony III, not more than 7 years; 6) for a misdemeanor I, not more than 5 years; 7) for a misdemeanor II, not more than 2 years; 8) for a misdemeanor III, not more than 1 year; and 9) for a summary offense, not more than 90 days. For most drug offenses, the maximum term of confinement is set by 35 P.S. §§113(b)-(1), and §§114-115. The guidelines contain sentence ranges for only the minimum sentence. They do not suggest maximum sentences. MINIMUM SENTENCE: The minimum sentence may not exceed one-half the length of the maximum sentence that is imposed [42 Pa. C.S. §9755(b) and §9756(b)], The guideline ranges are limited by the longest legal minimum sentence for a crime, even where the sentence range charts [204 Pa. Code §303.9] show a range which exceeds the longest legal minimum sentence. [Pa. Code 303.1(i)]. -83- (rev 8/1/88)