Sentencing Hearings in Virginia Embezzlement Cases 

The most important thing at any sentencing hearing is the sentencing guidelines which the court carefully considers. Unfortunately, those guidelines are occasionally prepared incorrectly. Sometimes the guidelines factor in things that are not appropriate and create a situation where the person is presented with an elevated range beyond what it should be.

For this reason, it is a good idea for the person to have a skilled embezzlement lawyer by their side who is familiar with sentencing hearings in Virginia embezzlement cases. Hiring an attorney that can fashion an argument and encourage the court to take a different view of the sentencing guidelines can help the court calculate guidelines in a way that is appropriate.

Virginia Sentencing Guidelines

Virginia sentencing guidelines contain a series of questions that must be asked and answered to determine the proper level of sentencing the guidelines recommend to the court. The questions are related to the nature of the offense, previous convictions under Virginia law or other jurisdiction, and the amount involved in the embezzlement. As the questions are answered, a numeric value is assigned based on the answers. When all questions are answered, the points assigned to each question are calculated. The sentencing guidelines generate the sentence recommendation based on the value of total points at the completion of all questions. That guideline recommendation is always deeply considered by the court and often adhered to. There are circumstances where a person might get a sentence above or below the sentencing guidelines. Most of the time, a person is sentenced to a period of incarceration based on the guidelines’ recommendation.

Sentencing Consequences

When sentencing hearings in Virginia embezzlement cases, guidelines can and often do, come with the recommendation of punishment that could include probation or less than one year in jail. When the guidelines come in lower than the statutory range, the court must sentence to at least that one year. The court also has the power to suspend all or part of that sentence, so the person has suspended jail or prison time hanging over their head subject to their completion of the term of probation to be assigned by the court.

Sometimes probation includes counseling for substance abuse or mental health issues as well as community service or taking a class aimed at prevention of shoplifting or other types of theft. There are different hoops through which the court might require a person to jump when they are assigned to probation. Any of those hoops is better than time spent in jail. Those people who get probation are often willing and happy to jump through those.

Preparing for a Hearing

The first thing an embezzlement sentencing hearing lawyer does is look at the guidelines to determine whether they were correctly calculated. If not, the lawyer challenges the guidelines in an effort to create a lower range of recommended sentence for their client. Beyond that, the lawyer takes a complete approach toward the client’s life and presents it in such a way that the court sees the person did many good things of great value to themselves, their family, and society as a whole. Presenting the client in that light to the court helps soften the impact of the crime they are convicted of. The overall idea is to present an all-inclusive picture to the court to get the sentence below the guideline range.

Appealing an Embezzlement Sentence

The sentence cannot be appealed as long as it is within the legal limits or embezzlement, which is one to 20 years. A sentence of 25 years for embezzlement can be appealed because the statute authorizes the court to give a sentence only up to 20 years. Convictions can be appealed if a person tried the case and lost. Sentences can only be appealed if they are outside the statutory range, permitted by the Virginia legislature.

Importance of An Attorney

When sentencing hearings in Virginia embezzlement cases, a sentencing lawyer considers the crime committed and the guidelines that result from the crime. Sentencing attorneys also take a holistic approach toward their client. An experienced Virginia embezzlement lawyer will be able to present all of the good things about their client to the court. This, in turn, enables the court to deviate downward from the sentencing guideline range recommended to the court. A holistic approach allows the court to see the full picture of the defendant’s life and not just snapshots that focus on the crime for which they were convicted.