§ 17-10-3.2 Punishment upon conviction of a fourth or subsequent qualifying misdemeanor in ten years
Chapter 10. Sentence and Punishment
Rule Text
(a) As used in this Code section, the term “qualifying misdemeanor” means any misdemeanor conviction under Chapter 5 or 6 of Title 16 or any misdemeanor conviction under the laws of any other state or of the United States of a crime which, if committed in this state, would be a misdemeanor under Chapter 5 or 6 of Title 16.
(b) Upon conviction of a fourth or subsequent qualifying misdemeanor within a ten-year period of time, as measured from the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained or pleas of nolo contendere were accepted to the date of the current arrest for which a conviction is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is accepted, the defendant shall be deemed to have committed a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than ten years. The first year of such sentence shall not be suspended, probated, deferred, or withheld.
(c) Multiple qualifying misdemeanors occurring on a single date shall constitute only one qualifying misdemeanor conviction for purposes of subsection (b) of this Code section.
(d) The preceding qualifying misdemeanors pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section shall be alleged in a separate count of the indictment that includes:
(1) A list of the preceding qualifying misdemeanor offenses;
(2) The dates of conviction for such offenses; and
(3) The jurisdictions where such offenses occurred.
(e) A certified copy of the judgment for a preceding qualifying misdemeanor shall be prima facie evidence of such conviction.