Hill v. State

The Petitioners in this case—Steven Hill, Terri Alston, and Charles Yates 1 —were sentenced to terms of imprisonment with a deferred, or “springing,” start date. Under these sentences, their jail terms were scheduled to begin three to five years after the sentencing date. The sentencing judge informed Petitioners that if they stayed out of further legal trouble during that time, they could return to court before the start date and have their sentences vacated. Petitioners, however, did not return to court, and later failed to report on the respective start dates, and each was charged and pled…