House File 2516 - Introduced



                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  R. OLSON


    Passed House, Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the reconsideration of the sentence of a
  2    person convicted of a felony.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 6372HH 81
  5 jm/gg/14

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 902.4, Code 2005, is amended to read as
  1  2 follows:
  1  3    902.4  RECONSIDERATION OF FELON'S SENTENCE.
  1  4    For a period of one year from the date when a person
  1  5 convicted of a felony, other than a class "A" felony or a
  1  6 felony for which a minimum sentence of confinement is imposed,
  1  7 begins to serve a sentence of confinement, the court, on its
  1  8 own motion or on the recommendation of the director of the
  1  9 Iowa department of corrections, may order the person to be
  1 10 returned to the court, at which time the court may review its
  1 11 previous action and reaffirm it or substitute for it any
  1 12 sentence permitted by law.  Copies of the order to return the
  1 13 person to the court shall be provided to the attorney for the
  1 14 state, the defendant's attorney, and the defendant.  Upon a
  1 15 request of the attorney for the state, the defendant's
  1 16 attorney, or the defendant if the defendant has no attorney,
  1 17 the court may, but is not required to, conduct a hearing on
  1 18 the issue of reconsideration of sentence.  The court shall not
  1 19 disclose its decision to reconsider or not to reconsider the
  1 20 sentence of confinement until the date reconsideration is
  1 21 ordered when the court deems it appropriate to disclose its
  1 22 decision or the date the one=year period expires, whichever
  1 23 occurs first.  The district court retains jurisdiction for the
  1 24 limited purposes of conducting such review and entering an
  1 25 appropriate order notwithstanding the timely filing of a
  1 26 notice of appeal.  The court's final order in the proceeding
  1 27 shall be delivered to the defendant personally or by regular
  1 28 mail.  The court's decision to take the action or not to take
  1 29 the action is not subject to appeal.  However, for the
  1 30 purposes of appeal, a judgment of conviction of a felony is a
  1 31 final judgment when pronounced.
  1 32                           EXPLANATION
  1 33    This bill relates to the reconsideration of the sentence of
  1 34 a person convicted of a felony.
  1 35    The bill provides that the court may disclose its decision
  2  1 to reconsider the sentence of confinement when the court deems
  2  2 it appropriate to disclose its decision, or one year from the
  2  3 date the sentence of the person begins, whichever occurs
  2  4 first.
  2  5    Current law provides that the court shall not disclose its
  2  6 decision to reconsider the sentence until the date
  2  7 reconsideration is ordered, or one year from the date the
  2  8 sentence of the person begins, whichever occurs first.
  2  9 LSB 6372HH 81
  2 10 jm:rj/gg/14