Rule 6-801 Modification of sentence.

A judge in magistrate court has the power to lower a sentence or fine after it's been given, but only under certain conditions. The judge cannot make the sentence or fine bigger than it already was. This can happen anytime up until the point when the maximum jail time allowed for the crime would have ended.

Before any sentence gets changed, everyone involved in the case must be told about it first, and there has to be a hearing. If someone has already filed an appeal on their case, the judge cannot modify the sentence while that appeal is still being decided. One common example of a valid change is switching someone from jail time to probation, since that counts as reducing the sentence.

There are also some firm limits on what this rule allows. The judge cannot change whether someone was found guilty. That part of the case stays the same no matter what. Also, if someone already paid a fine, the court cannot order that money to be given back, even if the fine amount gets reduced later.