2005 Idaho Code - 19-2601 — COMMUTATION, SUSPENSION, WITHHOLDING OF SENTENCE -- PROBATION

                                  TITLE  19
                              CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
                                  CHAPTER 26
                     SUSPENSION OF JUDGMENT AND SENTENCE
                             AND PAROLE OFFENDERS
    19-2601.  COMMUTATION, SUSPENSION, WITHHOLDING OF SENTENCE -- PROBATION.
Whenever any person shall have been convicted, or enter a plea of guilty, in
any district court of the state of Idaho, of or to any crime against the laws
of the state, except those of treason or murder, the court in its discretion,
may:
    1.  Commute the sentence and confine the defendant in the county jail, or,
if the defendant is of proper age, commit the defendant to the custody of the
state department of juvenile corrections; or
    2.  Suspend the execution of the judgment at the time of judgment or at
any time during the term of a sentence in the county jail and place the
defendant on probation under such terms and conditions as it deems necessary
and expedient; or
    3.  Withhold judgment on such terms and for such time as it may prescribe
and may place the defendant on probation; or
    4.  Suspend the execution of the judgment at any time during the first one
hundred eighty (180) days of a sentence to the custody of the state board of
correction. The court shall retain jurisdiction over the prisoner for the
first one hundred eighty (180) days or, if the prisoner is a juvenile, until
the juvenile reaches twenty-one (21) years of age. The prisoner will remain
committed to the board of correction if not affirmatively placed on probation
by the court. In extraordinary circumstances, where the court concludes that
it is unable to obtain and evaluate the relevant information within the one
hundred eighty (180) day period of retained jurisdiction, or where the court
concludes that a hearing is required and is unable to obtain the defendant's
presence for such a hearing within such period, the court may decide whether
to place the defendant on probation or release jurisdiction within a
reasonable time, not to exceed thirty (30) days, after the one hundred eighty
(180) day period of retained jurisdiction has expired. Placement on probation
shall be under such terms and conditions as the court deems necessary and
expedient. The court in its discretion may sentence a defendant to more than
one (1) period of retained jurisdiction after a defendant has been placed on
probation in a case. In no case shall the board of correction or its agent,
the department of correction, be required to hold a hearing of any kind with
respect to a recommendation to the court for the grant or denial of probation.
Probation is a matter left to the sound discretion of the court. Any
recommendation made by the department to the court regarding the prisoner
shall be in the nature of an addendum to the presentence report. The board of
correction and its agency, the department of correction, and their employees
shall not be held financially responsible for damages, injunctive or
declaratory relief for any recommendation made to the district court under
this section.
    5.  If the crime involved is a felony and if judgment is withheld as
provided  in subsection 3. of this section or if judgment and a sentence of
custody to the state board of correction is suspended at the time of judgment
in accordance with subsection 2. of this section or as provided by subsection
4. of this section and the court shall place the defendant upon probation, it
shall be to the board of correction, to a county juvenile probation
department, or any other person or persons the court, in its discretion, deems
appropriate.
    6.  If the crime involved is a misdemeanor, indictable or otherwise, or if
the court should suspend any remaining portion of a jail sentence already
commuted in accordance with subsection 1. of this section, the court, if it
grants probation, may place the defendant on probation. If the convicted
person is a juvenile held for adult criminal proceedings, the court may order
probation under the supervision of the county's juvenile probation department.
    7.  The period of probation ordered by a court under this section under a
conviction or plea of guilty for a misdemeanor, indictable or otherwise, may
be for a period of not more than two (2) years; and under a conviction or plea
of guilty for a felony the period of probation may be for a period of not more
than the maximum period for which the defendant might have been imprisoned.