In Re Parent

The petition for habeas corpus in this case alleges that the commitment is invalid because the petitioner was improperly sentenced. He claims, and the State concedes, that the court ordering his confinement set a maximum term but, contrary to the provisions of 13 V.S.A.§7031, set no minimum term. In fact, the trial court set an identical maximum and minimum term, which is acknowledged to be contrary to the spirit and intent of the statute, and is error.

This error does not require the discharge of the petitioner. The propriety of the conviction is not challenged. The error is in the sentence,…