What is The Difference Between Active and Suspended Jail Time?
Peter Odom: Active jail time is time that a defendant spends in the DC jail serving a sentence. Suspended jail time is jail time that is imposed by the court, but that the defendant does not have to serve as long as he complies with certain conditions. For example, at a sentencing hearing on a DUI charge, a judge could sentence you to 45 days of jail but suspend the execution of that sentence in its entirety while placing you on a 1 year period of probation. If you comply with any conditions of probation imposed by the judge, such as alcohol treatment or refraining from getting arrested on any new charges, then you would never serve the 45 day sentence. But, if you violate probation, your judge could revoke your probation and make you serve the jail time that was initially suspended.