A. For purposes of the Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act:

1. "Local community sentencing system" means the use of public and private entities to deliver services to the sentencing court for punishment of eligible felony offenders under the authority of a community sentence;

2. "Community sentence" or "community punishment" means a punishment imposed by the court as a condition of a deferred or suspended sentence for an eligible offender;

3. "Continuum of sanctions" means a variety of coercive measures ranked by degrees of public safety, punitive effect, and cost benefit which are available to the sentencing judge as punishment for criminal conduct;

4. "Community sentencing system planning council" or "planning council" means a group of citizens and elected officials specified by law or appointed by the Chief Judge of the Judicial District which plans the local community sentencing system and with the assistance of the Community Sentencing Division of the Department of Corrections locates treatment providers and resources to support the local community sentencing system;

5. "Incentive" means a court-ordered reduction in the terms or conditions of a community sentence which is given for exceptional performance or progress by the offender;

6. "Disciplinary sanction" means a court-ordered punishment in response to a technical or noncompliance violation of a community sentence which increases in intensity or duration with each successive violation;

7. "Division" means the Community Sentencing Division within the Department of Corrections which is the state administration agency for the Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act, the statewide community sentencing system, and all local community sentencing systems;

8. "Eligible offender" means a felony offender who has been convicted of or who has entered a plea other than not guilty to a felony offense and who upon completion of a risk and needs assessment has been found to be in a range other than the low range and who is not otherwise prohibited by law, or is a person who has had an assessment authorized by Section 3-704 of Title 43A of the Oklahoma Statutes and the assessment recommends community sentencing. Provided, however, that no person who has been convicted of or who has entered a plea other than not guilty to an offense enumerated in paragraph 2 of Section 571 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes, as an exception to the definition of "nonviolent offense", shall be eligible for a community sentence or community punishment unless the district attorney or an assistant district attorney for the district in which the offender's conviction was obtained consents thereto. The district attorney may consent to eligibility for an offender who has a mental illness or a developmental disability or a co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorder and who scores in the low range on the risk and needs assessment authorized by Section 3-704 of Title 43A of the Oklahoma Statutes or another assessment instrument if the offender is not otherwise prohibited by law. Any consent by a district attorney shall be made a part of the record of the case; and

9. "Statewide community sentencing system" means a network of all counties through their respective local community sentencing systems serving the state judicial system and offering support services to each other through reciprocal and interlocal agreements and interagency cooperation.

B. For the purposes of the Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act, if a judicial district does not have a Chief Judge or if a judicial district has more than one Chief Judge, the duties of the Chief Judge provided for in the Oklahoma Community Sentencing Act shall be performed by the Presiding Judge of the Judicial Administrative District.

Added by Laws 1999, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 4, § 2, eff. July 1, 1999. Amended by Laws 2004, c. 251, § 1, eff. July 1, 2004; Laws 2011, c. 218, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2011; Laws 2015, c. 331, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2015; Laws 2016, c. 222, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2016; Laws 2017, c. 42, § 11, eff. Aug. 25, 2017; Laws 2018, c. 128, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 2018.

NOTE: Laws 2015, c. 397, § 3 repealed by Laws 2016, c. 210, § 10, emerg. eff. April 26, 2016. Laws 2016, c. 210, § 9 repealed by Laws 2017, c. 42, § 12, eff. Aug. 25, 2017.