Am I going to jail?!?

You might be surprised by how complex of a question this really is. I get the impression that most people in society have no idea what conduct might land them in jail. Frankly, there are lots of attorneys who can’t even answer this question, particularly those who “dabble” in the criminal defense world. Hopefully, this article will help to simplify things a bit.

While there are always exceptions to the rule (this is law after all), the way to answer the question “am I going to jail,” is to figure out what your sentencing guidelines are. The sentencing guidelines are the key to figuring out what sort of punishment you might really be looking at. Figuring out the guidelines comes down to answering two questions; “what is your prior record score,” and “what is your offense gravity score?” In plain English, this is, “have you been in trouble before,” and “how serious are the charges you are facing?” The number and seriousness of any prior offenses will be taken into account to figure out your prior record score which could be 0-5, or RFEL, or REVOC. The seriousness of the new charges will be taken into account to determine the offense gravity score; the more serious the new charge, the higher the score (1-14).

 Once you know the answers to these two questions, we come to see the sentencing matrix. This crazy thing that looks sort of like the periodic table of elements that, I hope for your sake, you haven’t had to look at since being in school. The picture below is the sentencing matrix from the year 2022. Taking the offense gravity score on the left to figure out how high up the table to look, combined with the prior record score on the top to figure out how far to the right to look will get you to a single square with some numbers in it (more on that in a second). If you follow, the higher up on the matrix and the farther right you go, the higher the likelihood of jail and the longer the potential times in jail.

 Once you find a box in this table, you will see a range of numbers. This could be “RS-2” (probation to 2 months) or “108-126,” in terms of months. That is the “standard” range of the potential sentence you might get based on the charged offense. On the far right, you’ll see other numbers that say +/- 3 and so on. That means that you’ll look at the bottom number of your standard range and subtract that number by the corresponding +/- block on the far right. You would add that same number to the higher number of your standard range. This will give you your mitigated or aggravated ranges of your sentence.

Let me provide you with an example of what this really looks like. If you have a new offense and it has an offense gravity score of 4 and you have a prior record score of 4, your standard range sentencing guidelines would be 6-16 months. You would then subtract 3 from your bottom number (6) for a mitigated range sentence of 3-6 months. You would add 3 to the top number of 16 months to get to an aggravated range sentence of 19-38 months. That gives your total sentencing guidelines with all of its possibilities.

However, now that we’ve gone through all those technical questions, remember, individual attorneys make all the difference in potential sentences and in the way cases turn out. If you get a not guilty or a dismissal, you don’t have to worry about anything I just talked about. You should also remember these potential sentences are guidelines. Sometimes there is the possibility for sentencing that can fall “outside” the guidelines. This means that it is possible that the numbers in the table might not apply to you. Further, a good attorney knows how to advocate for their client in the event of a need for sentencing. A good attorney will at least force a judge to consider whether the sentence he would give is appropriate, or perhaps, whether there is a better alternative, like house arrest or alternative housing that might apply.

With all that being said, don’t be fooled or feel a false sense of security because you might be on the bottom left side of the matrix. Sentences can be run consecutive (one after the other), so having multiple charges can double the potential sentencing guidelines or worse. Sometimes the Commonwealth can add sentencing enhancements which are found in the sentencing code to make the guidelines change. Even in a situation where it looks like you should get probation can get out of hand if you don’t have a knowledgeable and talented attorney representing you. Yes, sentencing is very complicated; the good news is, I’m here to help walk you through it, if it should ever be necessary.

So, what do you do if you find yourself at this page because you or a loved one isn’t sure what could happen to you because of a criminal case? My best advice is to call me ASAP. Pietropaolo Law can be reached at 412 407 3880 by call and text.

Be safe, be smart, and be prepared,

Domenic Pietropaolo, Esq