In Las Vegas, Nevada, after a person is found guilty at trial or voluntarily enters into a plea negotiation, before he or she is sentenced, the Division of Parole and Probation interviews the defendant and prepares what is known as a Pre-Sentence Investigation Report (“PSI). This report gives the judge a background on the defendant, including work history, family, prior criminal history or lack thereof in addition to a description of the current charge, and a recommendation as to whether the defendant should be given probation or sentenced to prison.
For defendants who are in custody at the Clark County Detention Center awaiting sentencing, there have been significant delays as parole and probation has been dealing with budget cuts which has shortened their staff and delayed their ability to create these reports. Currently under Nevada law, parole and probation has 45 days from the conviction or entry of plea to complete the report. But, that deadline is missed often, causing lengthy delays in sentencing which leads to many problems, including defendants being forced to stay at the Clark County Detention Center (CCDC) for a longer period than anticipated, which costs the county upwards to $17 million a year. If the defendant is sentenced to probation they are immediately released from CCDC and are placed on supervision. If the defendant is sentenced to prison they are then sent to a state prison run by the Nevada Department of Corrections.
Another issue that has caused problems with the sentencing process is errors that are found in the pre-sentence investigation report after they are submitted. These errors, if caught by the defendant or his counsel can cause additional delays. If errors are not caught prior to sentencing, a defendant has no recourse, as the Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that inaccuracies in these reports cannot be changed after sentencing. In response to this ruling, new state laws have been implanted. Currently, pre-sentence reports must be submitted to all parties seven days prior to sentencing, and in March of 2014 the deadline will increase to fourteen days prior to sentencing, and lastly twenty-one days prior to sentencing by October 2014.
In order to properly represent a client at sentencing, a criminal defense attorney must have ample time to review and discuss the pre-sentence investigation report with his client. Because, it is the duty of the defense attorney to point out any errors to the court, and provide the court with time to verify an errors detailed there in. These errors if not addressed, potentially could be the difference between a client being granted probation or sentenced to prison.
–Michael A. Troiano, Esq.
Attorney at Law
Source: Las Vegas Review Journal