Section 27.1 Sentencing Defined

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

A. (§27.1) Sentencing Defined

Black’s Law Dictionary (Bryan A. Garner ed., 7^th ed. 1999) defines a sentence as: “The judgment that a court formally pronounces after finding a criminal defendant guilty; the punishment imposed on a criminal wrongdoer.” The Supreme Court of Missouri has stated that the term “sentence”:

may be said to denote the action of the court of criminal jurisdiction, formally declaring to accused the legal consequences of the guilt which he has confessed or of which he has been convicted. However, a sentence is not, strictly speaking, the act of the court but the judgment of the law of which the court is commanded to pronounce.

State v. Pruitt, 169 S.W.2d 399 (Mo. 1943). The punishment may include imprisonment, a fine, or both and must be statutorily authorized. The court may also place a defendant on probation for a period of time and may add special conditions to the probation such as:

· electronic monitoring or house arrest;

· attending economic programs (shoplifting offenders), drug or alcohol counseling, or programs such as the Alcohol and Drug Education Program (ADEP) and the Substance Abuse Traffic Offender Program (SATOP);

· paying restitution; or

· having no contact with the victim or co-defendants.

Long before the sentencing phase of a criminal case, the attorney should prepare the defendant for the possible outcomes if the defendant is convicted of the...