April 1, 2014 – A state appeals court recently clarified the proper application of sentence credit in parole revocation cases while concluding that one man's credit for time served was properly applied to his remaining parole period, not his reincarceration period.

Andrew Obriecht was paroled from prison in 2011 and soon violated the terms of his parole. The Division of Hearings and Appeals (DHA) ordered that Obriecht be reincarcerated.

Obriecht filed a motion, arguing he should receive 107 days of credit for time served on the underlying judgment of conviction. The circuit court granted the motion.

However, the Department of Corrections (DOC) applied the 107 days to Obriecht’s remaining period of parole – which he would now be spending in prison – not the period of time that he would be serving for reincarceration on the underlying sentence.

The circuit court denied Obriecht’s motion for reconsideration, concluding the DOC correctly applied the credit. In State v. Obriecht, 2013AP1345-CR (March 27, 2014), a three-judge appeals court panel affirmed, clarifying sentence credit in revocation cases.

Under Wis. Stat. section 302.11(7)(am)-(b), a parole board can send someone who violates parole back to prison for a period “up to the remainder of the sentence for a violation of the conditions of parole.” The remainder of the sentence is the entire sentence, less time served in custody before they were paroled.

“In this case, if the sentence credit were applied to the term of reincarceration ordered, instead of the remaining period of parole, Obriecht would not be ‘incarcerated for the entire period of time determined by’ DHA,” wrote Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg.

“The effect of applying the 107 days of sentence credit to the remaining period of parole is to shorten Obriecht’s overall sentence, while ensuring that he served the entire term of reincarceration order by DHA,” Kloppenburg noted for the three-judge panel.