Petition For Resentencing: Fill & Download for Free

I think resentencing is fair only if it is done due to a demonstrable problem or defect with the original sentencing which renders the original sentence improper. It should be done, in other words, only to right a wrong. A hearing on a petition for resentencing is held to establish whether or not the original sentence should be vacated and then, if good cause exists, the original sentence is vacated and a new one imposed. I have heard of this chiefly in regard to reducing original sentences for cause, and rarely does it go the other way, although I guess it’s not impossible.

Sure. An ‘appeal’ is one specific legal process, when an appellate court decides whether a lower court made a legal mistake that affected the outcome of the case. Some people refer to all post-sentencing legal attacks as ‘appeals,’ but the system distinguishes appeals from other proceedings. There are lots of other legal processes. They vary based on the jurisdiction, but there might be: a motion for new trial, or for resentencing, or reconsideration (a request to the trial court to change what the trial court did); or a petition for post-conviction relief or habeas corpus (a request to another trial court or a federal court to decide that some legal error had invalidated the result of the first trial court). There also might be procedures to make the request of a corrections official (the prison, the head of the department of prisons, the parole board, &c) or the governor’s office, or the prosecutor’s office, or someone else.For options in a particular case, ask a lawyer where you are. There are often procedures for court-appointed lawyers if you can’t pay, and the court where you are might be able to tell you about those procedures. And some of these procedures have short or complex time limitations.

No; they are not being tried for the same crime twice; they are being resentenced in concordance with a directive from an appellate court, because the trial court erred in sentencing them below the statutory minimum for the crimes of which they were convicted.Double Jeopardy applies if someone is tried twice for the exact same crime, usually after being acquitted the first time.A good explanation follows:By law, arson on federal land carries a five-year mandatory minimum sentence. When the Hammonds were originally sentenced, they argued that the five-year mandatory minimum terms were unconstitutional and the trial court agreed and imposed sentences well below what the law required based upon the jury’s verdicts. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, however, upheld the federal law, reasoning that “given the seriousness of arson, a five-year sentence is not grossly disproportionate to the offense.” The court vacated the original, unlawful sentences and ordered that the Hammonds be resentenced “in compliance with the law.” In March 2015, the Supreme Court rejected the Hammonds’ petitions for certiorari. Today, Chief Judge Aiken imposed five year prison terms on each of the Hammonds, with credit for time they already served.Ref: Eastern Oregon Ranchers Convicted of Arson Resentenced to Five Years in Prison