Basics of Mandatory Supervision

What is mandatory supervision?

If you receive a split sentence (jail and community supervision time), you could be placed on Mandatory Supervision after your release from county jail. California’s 2011 Realignment law (AB 109) has given criminal courts in California a legal tool called “split sentencing.”[808] Split sentencing allows a judge to split the time of a person’s sentence between a jail term and a period of supervision by a probation officer.

While Mandatory Supervision is not technically probation by law, it will feel the same—you will be supervised by a county probation officer, and it will feel a lot like probation in how the supervision functions.[809]

Please note: Mandatory Supervision is run by the counties and rules vary from county to county across California. We have tried to provide information here that will be helpful to all, but we encourage you to find out information from your particular county probation office about how Mandatory Supervision operates, and what services or programs are available to you there.

  1. 808

    See Cal. Penal Code § 1170(h)(5). ↑

  2. 809

    Mandatory supervision is similar to probation, though mandatory may also include extra monitoring conditions, such as GPS monitoring or home detention. Fore more information about mandatory supervision and split sentences, see Rebecca Sullivan Silbert, Thinking Critically About Realignment in California, https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/bccj/Thinking_Critically_3-14-2012.pdf. ↑

Who can be released onto mandatory supervision?

You are eligible for a “split sentence” and Mandatory Supervision if your felony conviction is for a non-violent, non-serious, non-sex offense (the “3 nons”) by law.[810]

You CANNOT get a “split sentence” if:

    You have a prior or current felony conviction for a serious felony described in Cal. Pen. Code § 1192.7(c);
    You have a prior or current conviction for a violent felony described in Cal. Pen. Code § 667.5(c);
    You have a prior felony conviction in another jurisdiction for an offense that has all the elements of a serious or violent felony discussed directly above;
    You are required to register as a sex offender pursuant to Cal. Pen. Code § 290 et seq.; OR
    Your conviction included a sentence enhancement pursuant to Cal. Pen. Code § 186.11.
    These 5 categories of individuals will still have to serve their sentence in state prison.[811]
  1. 810

    See Cal. Penal Code § 1170(h)(5). ↑

  2. 811

    See Cal. Penal Code § 1170(a)(3). ↑