[smartchante]

Hello.

My fiance' was sentenced a "supposedly" mandatory minimum of 3 years for failing to register as a sex offender for a second time. I'm sure he was not aware of that stipulation (however still no excuse). No where on his judgement entry does it state he has a mandatory sentence. Lawyers keep telling me YES a law was passed that if you fail to register 2 times it is possible to get mandatory time. What I want to know is what are the stipulations of a mandatory minimum? Does that mean simply that the judge can only sentence a minimum of 3 years with the possibility of judicial vs. a mandatory sentence that must be served no questions asked. He has served 7 months of his sentence and I would like to file for Judicial Release. Could you please give me some insight on this? Thanks for your time and consideration!

[excon]

Hello smart:

I'd like to help, but I don't know if I can. Maybe the best I can do is clear things up for you... First, though, you're going to have to clear some things up for me..

You say above, the law says that, if broken, it's possible to get a mandatory sentence... That makes no sense on its face... You need to read the law again.

Then you want to know what a mandatory sentence means (stipulations?). I think it's clear, unless you're talking about time off for good behavior. But, that's another question.

Then you suggest there's some sort of "judicial" as opposed to "mandatory" sentence available, and that also makes no sense to me... I've never heard of a "judicial" sentence, nor a "judicial" release.

Mandatory means mandatory. It means there are no other options.

Having said that, I'm happy to be wrong. Please send me a link to the law you're referencing so I can read it myself. Once I know the exact wording of the law, I MAY be able to offer assistance..

excon