State Supreme Court limits good time credits

The Nevada Appellate Court has ruled inmates can’t get good time credits for time spent in a residential treatment facility.

The ruling came in the case of Felix Soto who’s serving up to six years in prison for drug sales. He filed suit asking Washoe District Judge Janet Berry to give him additional presentence credits for the time spent in treatment while on probation. Berry denied the petition and, this week, the Appeals Court agreed with her.

The order states that statute allows district court to order credit for time “which the defendant has actually spent in confinement before conviction.”

“A defendant is entitled to credit only for confinement that is tantamount to incarceration in a county jail,” the order states. “Soto failed to demonstrate that his stay was tantamount to incarceration in a county jail. Therefore, the district court did not err in denying the petition.”