Defendant Successfully Appeals to Receive Custody Credit for Time In Wisconsin Jail in Recent Minnesota Case

Generally, you only receive a custody credit for time you spend in a Minnesota jail or prison jail. There is not space in this blog article to go through all the nuances of the law. There are exceptions for situations such as if  you are picked up on a Minnesota warrant in another state and the only reason you are in custody is because of the Minnesota case. But the vast majority of times that you are in an out of state prison, you are not going to receive custody credit time.

De Facto Consecutive Sentencing

On Monday, November 4, 2024, the Minnesota Court of Appeals highlighted another situation where a defendant should receive custody credit for time spent in an out of state jail. In the appeal, the defendant had asked for numerous things including custody credit for time spent in a Wisconsin jail before sentencing in Minnesota. The defendant was not successful in the pre-sentencing request because of Minnesota’s laws as described in the paragraph above. But the Minnesota Court of Appeals did grant relief for custody credit spent in a Wisconsin jail after sentencing because of the important distinction that his sentence was supposed to be concurrent with his Wisconsin sentence. The Court of Appeals opinion comments that the district court by denying his post sentencing custody credit in a Wisconsin jail, they were practically imposing a de facto consecutive sentence, which was contradicts the concurrent sentence he was supposed to receive. The court of appeal reversed and remanded the case.

Conclusion

Issues with custody credit and concurrent and consecutive sentences can get convoluted and confusing. If you or a loved one served a prison sentence where you did not receive the appropriate custody credit, you should contact a skilled appeals attorney. It’s important for you to act fast because there are time deadlines to filing appeals. Contact Jack Rice Defense if you want to appeal your case. (651) 447-7650

Peter Lindstrom

Peter is also the founder of his own law firm, Subzero Criminal Defense. He regularly contributes to Jack Rice Defense, bringing both his intelligence and creativity in advocacy. If you or a loved one wants to appeal a criminal case, you want Peter and the team at Jack Rice Defense in your corner.