A federal appeals court on Aug. 18 struck down the use of so-called “split sentences” in Jan. 6 cases—imposing both prison and probation for petty-offense misdemeanors such as the often-used charge of “parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.”
The 2–1 ruling (pdf) by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit could affect a large number of Jan. 6 cases where the U.S. Department of Justice recommended—and district judges imposed—sentences with jail and probation for “parading” convictions.
