Resolving Differences in Defining "1st-Time, Non-violent Offender"

1. Records of prior offenses, especially juvenile and out-of-state, are not always entered into records by law (juvenile) or by practice ("dropping page 2").

1. Should juvenile crimes -- not adjudicated in an adversarial court process -- be considered prior offenses, even if they are non-violent?
2. How old must a prior adult conviction be before an offender should be considered for an alternative sentence?

2. DA deferred prosecutions: DOC and CJRC cannot access private files of prosecutors.

1. Should a crime which the DA decided not worthy or punishment be considered a prior offense?
2. If deferred prosecution (no official record) is the first step, shouldn't deferred sentence (official record, untilmately deleted) and suspended sentence (permanent record) be subsequest steps before imprisonment?

3. Drug crimes: Define a threshold above which imprisonment is a proper level of punishment.

1. 1st-time drug possession crimes?
2. Subsequent drug possession crimes? How many?
3. First-time drug dealing?
4. First-time cultivation?
5. Trafficking/manufacturing?

4. Multiple Counts / Multiple Convictions

1. Should an offenders charged/convicted of multiple crimes, stemming from one incident, be considered a 1st-timer, for purposes of determining whether imprisonment is proper?