SB 494
Department of Legislative Services
Maryland General Assembly
2021 Session
FISCAL AND POLICY NOTE
Enrolled - Revised
Senate Bill 494 (Senator West, et al.)
Judicial Proceedings Judiciary
Juveniles Convicted as Adults - Sentencing - Limitations and Reduction (Juvenile
Restoration Act)
This bill authorizes a court, when sentencing a minor convicted as an adult, to impose a
sentence less than the minimum term required under law. A court is prohibited from
imposing a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or release on a
minor convicted as an adult. The bill also authorizes an individual who was convicted as
an adult for an offense committed when the individual was a minor to file a motion with
the court to reduce the duration of the individual’s sentence if the individual (1) was
sentenced for the offense before October 1, 2021, and (2) has been imprisoned for at least
20 years for the offense. The bill establishes procedures related to such motions.
Fiscal Summary
State Effect: Potential minimal decrease in general fund expenditures for the Department
of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS), as discussed below. Otherwise, the
bill is not anticipated to materially affect State operations or finances.
Local Effect: The bill is not anticipated to materially affect local government finances or
operations, as discussed below.
Small Business Effect: None.
Analysis
Bill Summary: The court must conduct a hearing on the motion. The individual must be
present at the hearing, unless he or she waives that right. This requirement may be satisfied
if the hearing is conducted by video conference. At the hearing, the individual may
introduce evidence in support of the motion, and the State may introduce evidence in
support of or in opposition to the motion. The victim or the victim’s representative must
be given notice of the hearing in accordance with §§ 11-104 and 11-503 of the Criminal
Procedure Article.
After a hearing, the court may reduce the duration of a sentence imposed if the court
determines that the individual is not a danger to the public, and the interests of justice will
be better served by a reduced sentence. The court must consider specified factors when
determining whether to reduce the duration of a sentence, including (1) the individual’s
age at the time of the offense; (2) the nature of the offense and the history and
characteristics of the individual; (3) whether the individual has completed an educational,
vocational, or other program; (4) whether the individual has demonstrated maturity,
rehabilitation, and fitness to reenter society sufficient to justify a sentence reduction;
(5) any statement offered by a victim or a victim’s representative; (6) the individual’s
family and community circumstances at the time of the offense, including any history of
trauma, abuse, or involvement in the child welfare system; and (7) the diminished
culpability of a juvenile as compared to an adult, including an inability to fully appreciate
risks and consequence.
The court must issue a written decision that addresses the specified factors. If the court
denies or grants, in part, a motion to reduce the duration of the sentence, the individual may
not file a second motion for at least three years. If the court denies or grants, in part, a
second motion, the individual may not file a third motion for at least three years. With
regard to any specific sentence, an individual may not file a fourth motion to reduce the
duration of the sentence.
Current Law:
Juvenile Court Jurisdiction
In general, the juvenile court has jurisdiction over a child alleged to be delinquent, in need
of supervision, or who has received a citation for specified violations. The juvenile court
does not have jurisdiction over children at least age 16 who are alleged to have committed
specified violent crimes, children age 14 and older charged with a crime punishable by life
imprisonment, and children who have previously been convicted as an adult of a felony
and are subsequently alleged to have committed an act that would be a felony if committed
by an adult. However, a circuit court may transfer a case involving such a child to the
juvenile court if such a transfer is believed to be in the interests of the child or society
(“reverse waiver”). A reverse waiver is not permitted in limited circumstances related to
specified prior convictions of the child or when the alleged crime is murder in the
first degree and the child was 16 or 17 years old at the time the alleged crime was
committed.
SB 494/ Page 2
Life Imprisonment without the Possibility of Parole
Individuals convicted of the following offenses may be subject to imprisonment for life
without the possibility of parole: (1) murder in the first degree; and (2) specified instances
of rape in the first degree (the defendant was previously convicted of first-degree rape or
first-degree sexual offense, the offense was committed in conjunction with kidnapping a
child younger than age 16, or the defendant is at least age 18 and the violation involved a
victim younger than age 13).
Life without Parole for Juvenile Offenders
In Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010), the Supreme Court held that it is
unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile offender to life without the possibility of parole for
nonhomicide crimes. In Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), the U.S. Supreme Court
held that a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole may not be imposed
on a juvenile offender. However, courts may still impose life imprisonment without the
possibility of parole on a juvenile offender after considering mitigating factors. In
Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S. Ct. 718 (2016), the court held that Miller applies
retroactively and that states may remedy sentences that are in violation of Miller by
extending parole eligibility to, rather than resentencing, offenders mandatorily sentenced
to life without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed as juveniles.
Parole and Parole Eligibility
Parole is a discretionary and conditional release from imprisonment determined after a
hearing for an inmate who is eligible to be considered for parole. If parole is granted, the
inmate is allowed to serve the remainder of the sentence in the community, subject to the
terms and conditions specified in a written parole order.
The Maryland Parole Commission (MPC) has jurisdiction regarding parole for eligible
inmates sentenced to State correctional facilities and local detention centers. Inmates in the
Patuxent Institution who are eligible for parole are under the jurisdiction of the Patuxent
Board of Review.
In general, a person sentenced to life imprisonment must serve a minimum of 15 years, less
diminution credits, before becoming eligible for parole and may be paroled only with the
approval of the Governor. However, offenders sentenced to life imprisonment for
first-degree murder, instead of a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of
parole, must serve a minimum of 25 years less diminution credits before becoming eligible
for parole and may generally be paroled only with approval of the Governor. However, if
MPC or the Patuxent Board of Review decides to grant parole to an inmate who has served
25 years without application of diminution credits and the Secretary of Public Safety and
SB 494/ Page 3
Correctional Services approves the decision, the decision must be transmitted to the
Governor, who may disapprove the decision in writing within 180 days. If the Governor
does not disapprove the decision to grant parole within that timeframe, the decision to grant
parole becomes effective.
Inmates serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole may not be granted
parole unless the Governor commutes the sentence to allow for the possibility of parole or
pardons the individual.
Reconsideration of a Sentence
Pursuant to Maryland Rule 4-345, a court may correct an illegal sentence at any time and
has revisory power over a sentence in case of fraud, mistake, or irregularity. The court also
has revisory power over the sentence upon a motion filed after imposition of the sentence,
as specified; however, it may not revise the sentence after the expiration of five years from
the date the sentence originally was imposed on the defendant, and it may not increase the
sentence. Maryland Rule 4-345 contains specified provisions regarding victim notification
and the right of a victim or a victim’s representative to attend and testify at a hearing on
the motion.
Under the Review of Criminal Sentences Act (§§ 8-102 through 8-109 of the
Criminal Procedure Article), with certain exceptions, a person convicted of a crime by a
circuit court and sentenced to a term of imprisonment that exceeds two years in a
correctional facility is entitled to have a panel of three circuit court judges of the
judicial circuit in which the sentencing court is located review the appropriateness of the
sentence. The sentencing judge may not be a member of the review panel but may sit with
the review panel in an advisory capacity. The defendant must file a motion within 30 days
after sentencing to exercise this right to review. The Act also contains specified provisions
regarding victim notification and the right of a victim or a victim’s representative to attend
the hearing on the motion and address the review panel.
After a hearing, the panel may order a different sentence to be imposed or served, including
an increased sentence, a decreased sentence, a suspended sentence to be served wholly or
partly, or a sentence to be suspended with or without probation. The panel may decide that
the sentence should remain unchanged with or without a hearing. In general, a majority of
the members of the review panel is necessary to render a decision. The panel has 30 days
after the filing date of the motion to make a decision.
Should the panel increase the sentence, a defendant may then appeal on the limited grounds
that the sentence was not within statutory or constitutional limits or that the panel acted
from ill will, prejudice, or other impermissible considerations. Otherwise, there is no right
to appeal a decision made by the review panel.
SB 494/ Page 4
A person is not entitled to this sentence review if the person’s sentence was imposed by
more than one judge. A person is not entitled to a review of an order requiring a suspended
part of a sentence to be served if the sentence originally was wholly or partly suspended,
the sentence was reviewed, and the suspended sentence or suspended part of that sentence
later was required to be served.
Victims’ Rights
Under Maryland law, a victim of a crime or delinquent act (or a representative in the event
the victim is deceased, disabled, or a minor) has a broad range of specific rights during the
criminal justice process. On first contact with a victim, a law enforcement officer,
District Court commissioner, or juvenile intake officer must give an identified victim a
pamphlet that advises the victim of the rights, services, and procedures available in the
time before and after the filing of a charging document. Also, within 10 days after the filing
or unsealing of an indictment or information, the prosecuting attorney must provide a
victim with a pamphlet that describes the rights, services, and procedures available to a
victim after the indictment or information is filed and a notification request form by which
a victim may request notice of various proceedings. Section § 11-104 of the Criminal
Procedure Article addresses victim notification, including the victim’s rights pamphlet and
the victim notification request form.
Under § 11-503 of the Criminal Procedure Article, following conviction or adjudication
and sentencing or disposition of a defendant or child respondent, the State’s Attorney must
notify the victim or victim’s representative of a “subsequent proceeding” in accordance
with § 11-104 if the victim or victim’s representative submitted to the State’s Attorney a
written request to be notified of subsequent proceedings or submitted a victim notification
request form. The notice must include the date, the time, the location, and a brief
description of the subsequent proceeding.
State/Local Fiscal Effect: General fund expenditures for DPSCS may decrease minimally
if (1) individuals who would otherwise be sentenced to life imprisonment without the
possibility of parole are sentenced to life imprisonment and are granted parole or
(2) individuals serve less incarceration time from sentence reductions under the judicial
process established by the bill or from courts opting to impose sentences that are less than
the minimum sentences required under statute. Implementation of the petition and hearing
process is not anticipated to materially affect State or local finances or operations.
According to DPSCS, as of December 30, 2020, the Division of Correction (DOC) had
1,159 inmates in custody who were younger than age 18 at the time of the offense. Of these
individuals, 47 were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole; 189 were sentenced
to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole; and the remaining individuals have an
average sentence length of 22.21 years.
SB 494/ Page 5
During fiscal 2020, DOC received 129 inmates who were younger than age 18 at the time
of offense. Of these inmates, none were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole;
15 were sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole; and the remaining
114 inmates have an average sentence length of 12.68 years.
Any potential minimal decrease in DPSCS expenditures from the bill’s prospective
prohibition on life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or release for juvenile
offenders is not realized until well into the future, since inmates sentenced to life
imprisonment are generally required to serve at least 15 years, considering allowances for
diminution credits, before becoming eligible for parole. Given the number of juvenile
offenders sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in recent years,
this bill is expected to apply to a small number of cases. Furthermore, given the juvenile
court’s jurisdiction and the types of offenses that carry a minimum sentence, the
prospective authority of a court, under the bill, to impose less than the minimum sentence
required under law when sentencing a minor convicted as an adult is not expected to
materially affect State or local finances.
As for the bill’s sentence reduction provisions, the number of individuals who are likely to
serve less incarceration time as a result of the process established under the bill compared
to existing judicial remedies or the existing parole process cannot be reliably predicted
beforehand, but is not expected to materially affect State incarceration costs.
Although the bill will generate additional hearings, because a motion to reduce a sentence
may only be filed by an individual who was sentenced for the offense before
October 1, 2021, and has been imprisoned for at least 20 years for the offense, it is
anticipated that the number of individuals who qualify for relief under the bill’s provisions
each year is small enough that the workload associated with these hearings can be absorbed
within the existing resources of the Office of the Public Defender and State’s Attorneys’
offices and not materially impact the workload of the courts. The bill is also not anticipated
to materially affect local incarceration costs.
Additional Information
Prior Introductions: HB 1437 of 2020, a similar bill, received a hearing in the House
Judiciary Committee, but no further action was taken. Its cross file, SB 1038, received a
hearing in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, but no further action was taken.
Designated Cross File: HB 409 (Delegate J. Lewis) - Judiciary.
Information Source(s): Judiciary (Administrative Office of the Courts); Office of the
Public Defender; Maryland State’s Attorneys’ Association; Department of Juvenile
SB 494/ Page 6
Services; Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; Department of
Legislative Services
Fiscal Note History: First Reader - February 15, 2021
rh/jkb Third Reader - March 25, 2021
Revised - Amendment(s) - March 25, 2021
Enrolled - April 7, 2021
Revised - Amendment(s) - April 7, 2021
Revised - Clarification - April 7, 2021
Revised - Updated Information - April 7, 2021
Analysis by: Amy A. Devadas Direct Inquiries to:
(410) 946-5510
(301) 970-5510
SB 494/ Page 7


Statutes affected:
Text - First - Juveniles Convicted as Adults - Sentencing - Limitations and Reduction (Juvenile Restoration Act): 6-235 Criminal Procedure, 8-110 Criminal Procedure
Text - Third - Juveniles Convicted as Adults - Sentencing - Limitations and Reduction (Juvenile Restoration Act): 6-235 [], 8-110 []
Text - Enrolled - Juveniles Convicted as Adults - Sentencing - Limitations and Reduction (Juvenile Restoration Act): 6-235 Criminal Procedure, 8-110 Criminal Procedure, 11-503 Criminal Procedure