FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
CHARLES R. DEETS JEFFREY A. MODISETT
J. MICHAEL LOHORN Attorney General of Indiana
Heide Sandy Deets & Kennedy
Lafayette, Indiana JAMES A. GARRARD
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
TOMMIE C. PURCELL, JR., )
)
Appellant-Defendant, )
)
vs. ) No. 86A03-9801-CR-29
)
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Appellee-Plaintiff. )
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
Ct. App. 1995). When Purcell violated the terms of his placement, the court had the option
to [r]evoke the placement and commit [Purcell] to the department of correction for the
remainder of [his] sentence. Ind. Code § 35-38-2.6-5(3) (1993) (emphasis added). Upon
revocation of Purcell's placement, the trial judge refused to credit Purcell with any of the
time he had served, based on Ind.Code § 35-38-2.6-6(a) (Supp. 1997), which provides, in
part, that a person who is placed in a community corrections program under this chapter is
entitled to earn credit time under IC 35-50-6 unless the person is placed in the person's
home.
Purcell argues, and we agree, that the trial judge erred when he ordered Purcell to
serve his entire three year sentence upon his violation of the community corrections
placement. The community corrections statute clearly states that after revocation of the
placement, the violator must serve only the remainder of his sentence. IC 35-38-2.6-5(3).See footnote 3
3
The code section on which the trial judge relied, although it provides that no credit time
is available for those serving time in home detention, does not preclude giving credit for time
served. IC 35-38-2.6-6(a). The confusion in this particular situation arises in the difference
between credit for time served and credit time, commonly referred to as good time credit.See footnote 4
4
Credit time, referred to in IC 35-38-2.6-6 and detailed in IC 35-50-6-3, is not defined
in the code. However, this court has defined credit time as a statutory reward for a lack of
conduct that is in violation of institutional rules. State v. Mullins, 647 N.E.2d 676, 678
(Ind. Ct. App. 1995). Credit time is based upon the behavior of the prisoner. Receipt of
credit is conditional upon continued good behavior and may be revoked. Id. (citing IC 35-
50-6-4). This definition indicates that credit time is time in addition to that actually served,
or good time credit.
Furthermore, a plain reading of IC 35-50-6-3 makes clear the distinction between
credit time and credit for time served. That statute assigns prisoners to classes for which
credit time is earned. Class I earns one (1) day of credit time for each day he is imprisoned
for a crime or confined awaiting trial or sentencing. Id. Class II earns one (1) day of credit
time for every two (2) days he is imprisoned . . . Id. From this language, it is clear that
credit time means time in addition to that actually served. If not, then those prisoners in
Class II would have to serve double the time to which they were sentenced in order to
complete their sentences, as they receive only one day of credit for every two days served.
Therefore, the credit time referred to by IC 35-38-2.6-6(a), and denied to those serving
time in home detention, is merely good time credit.
The State contends that IC 35-38-2.6-6(a) denies home detainees credit of any kind
and, therefore, precludes Purcell from getting credit for the 690 days he has already served.
The State relies on Franklin v. State, in which the Indiana Supreme Court held that pre-trial
home detainees are not entitled to credit time for the days they spend detained while awaiting
trial. 685 N.E.2d 1062 (Ind. 1997).See footnote 5
5
The court based its holding on IC 35-38-2.6-6(a),
reasoning that if post-conviction home detainees are denied credit time, the same should hold
true for pre-conviction home detainees. Id. at 1064. The court went on to deny the pre-trial
detainee any credit for the time he had spent in home detention. Id.
We do not find the Franklin decision to be controlling precedent in this case. The
issue in Franklin was whether a pre-trial home detainee was entitled to credit time. The court
found that pre-trial home detention was analogous to community corrections home detention,
and denied good time credit to the pre-trial detainee. To this extent, we agree with the
holding of Franklin. However, the Franklin court also denied the detainee any credit for the
time he had served; in so doing, the court failed to make the important distinction between
credit time and credit for time served. If the court had read IC 35-38-2.6-6(a) in its proper
context, it would have discovered that the community corrections statutory scheme gives
home detainees credit for time served, while denying only the credit time provided by IC
35-50-6-3. Because the Franklin court was deciding the limited question of whether pre-trial
home detainees are entitled to credit time, it examined only one section of the community
corrections statutory scheme, out of context, and it failed to note the difference between
credit for time served and credit time. The difference in these two types of credit time is at
issue in this case; therefore, we cannot look to Franklin for guidance.
Ct. App. 1998), trans. denied; Collins v. State, 639 N.E.2d 653 (Ind. Ct. App. 1994), trans. denied; Barton v. State, 598 N.E.2d 623 (Ind. Ct. App. 1992); Burton v. State, 547 N.E.2d 882 (Ind. Ct. App. 1989). However, none of the cited cases makes the distinction between credit time and credit for time served. Moreover, all of these cases deal with probation revocation and, thus, are not governed by the community corrections statutes.
Converted by Andrew Scriven