Can an offender’s suspended sentence be reduced when a CRV period is imposed?

Unclear. Under G.S. 15A-1344(d) and (d1), a court can, “before activating a sentence,” reduce a defendant’s sentence within the same sentencing grid cell. Those provisions clearly allow the court to reduce a defendant’s sentence when revoking his or her probation. It is uncertain whether they also allow the court to reduce a person’s suspended sentence when imposing CRV. A case decided before the JRA indicated that a judge may reduce a sentence only when probation is activated. State v. Mills, 86 N.C. App. 479 (1987). Nevertheless, to the extent that CRV can be styled as a partial activation, the reduction may be permissible. If it is, any suspended sentence for a misdemeanor may be sufficiently reduced to the point that a terminal CRV is permissible.