Several South Carolina CDV charges have mandatory jail or prison sentences. When mandatory sentencing applies the judge must sentence everyone who is convicted to some jail or prison time. These offenses are as follows:
- CDV 2nd (30 days in jail minimum)
- CDV 3rd (One year in prison minimum)
- DVHAN (One year in prison minimum)
An arrest for CDV is not the same as a conviction. When someone is arrested that means the police have formally charged them and taken them to jail. A conviction only occurs after someone has, or should have, appeared in Court. Convictions occur after someone who has been arrested either pleads guilty, or is found guilty after a trial.
If you are charged with one of the CDV offenses listed above and you go to Court and plead guilty the Court must give you jail or prison. time. There are only a limited number of ways that someone can avoid jail or prison for these charges. Those options are:
- Enrollment in pre-trial intervention or PTI
- Obtain a voluntary dismissal by the prosecutor (extremely rare since the no drop policy applies)
- Obtain a not-guilty verdict after a trial
- Plead guilty to a lesser offense which does not contain mandatory sentencing
As a CDV Defense Attorney the attorneys at the Law Office of James R. Snell, Jr., help clients who have been charged with an offense carrying mandatory sentence avoid going to jail or prison. Although mandatory sentencing laws make any of these offenses very serious for anyone charged, no case is hopeless.
To learn more about how office can help you or a loved one challenge any CDV arrest, including one carrying a mandatory jail or prison sentence, contact our office at 1-888-302-5840. Free initial consultations are provided at our office located at 316 South Lake Drive in downtown Lexington, South Carolina. Our office handles cases throughout South Carolina including Greenville, Charleston, Lexington and Richland counties.