Rule 43-21. Reduction of Sentence or Discharge of Defendant by Sentencing Court

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, at any time during an executed period of incarceration, the judicial authority may, after a hearing and for good cause shown, reduce the sentence or order the defendant discharged or released on probation or on a conditional discharge for a period not to exceed that to which the defendant could have been sentenced originally.

(b) On and after October 1, 2021, at any time during the period of a sentence in which a defendant has been sentenced prior to, on, or after October 1, 2021, to an executed period of incarceration of more than seven years as a result of a plea agreement, including an agreement in which there is an agreed upon range of sentence, upon agreement of the defendant and the state's attorney to seek review of the sentence, the judicial authority may, after hearing and for good cause shown, reduce the sentence, order the defendant discharged, or order the defendant discharged on probation or conditional discharge for a period not to exceed that to which the defendant could have been originally sentenced.

(c) If, after a hearing pursuant to this section, the judicial authority denies a motion to reduce a defendant's sentence or discharge the defendant, the defendant may not file a subsequent motion for relief under this section until five years have elapsed from the date of the most recent decision denying such defendant relief pursuant to this section.

(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any portion of a sentence imposed that is a mandatory minimum sentence for an offense which may not be suspended or reduced by the court.

(e) At a hearing held by the judicial authority under this section, such judicial authority shall permit any victim of the crime to appear before the court or judge for the purpose of making a statement for the record concerning whether or not the sentence of the defendant should be reduced, the defendant should be discharged or the defendant should be discharged on probation or conditional discharge pursuant to subsection

(a) or (b) of this section. In lieu of such appearance, the victim may submit a written statement to the judicial authority, and the judicial authority shall make such statement a part of the record at the hearing. For the purposes of this subsection, ''victim'' means the victim, the legal representative of the victim or a member of the deceased victim's immediate family.

Committee Notes

(Amended June 9, 2023, to take effect Jan. 1, 2024.) (P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 934.) (Amended June 9, 2023, to take effect Jan. 1, 2024.)