OFFENDER

offender. A person who has committed a crime.

adult offender. 1. A person who has committed a crime after reaching the age of majority. 2. A person who, having committed a crime while a minor, has been convicted after reaching the age of majority. 3. A juvenile who has committed a crime and is tried as an adult rather than as a juvenile.

[Cases: Infants 68.5. C.J.S. Infants §§ 43–45.]

career offender.Under the federal-sentencing guidelines, an adult who, after being convicted of two violent felonies or controlled-substance felonies, commits another such felony. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 4B1.1.

first offender.A person who authorities believe has committed a crime but who has never

before been convicted of a crime. • First offenders are often treated leniently at sentencing or in plea negotiations. [Cases: Criminal Law 273.1(2); Sentencing and Punishment 102, 868. C.J.S.

Criminal Law §§ 365–374, 1459–1460, 1463, 1465, 1472, 1477, 1479, 1492–1493, 1495, 1530.]

habitual offender. 1. A person who commits the same or a similar offense a certain number of times in a certain period, as set by statute, and is therefore eligible for an enhanced sentence. [Cases: Sentencing and Punishment 1200. C.J.S. Criminal Law §§ 1638–1639, 1641.] 2.RECIDIVIST.

repeat offender.A person who has been convicted of a crime more than once; RECIDIVIST.

[Cases: Sentencing and Punishment 1202. C.J.S. Criminal Law §§ 1643, 1650, 1652.] situational offender.A first-time offender who is unlikely to commit future crimes.

status offender.A youth who engages in conduct that — though not criminal by adult standards — is considered inappropriate enough to bring a charge against the youth in juvenile court; a juvenile who commits a status offense. Cf. youthful offender; JUVENILE DELINQUENT.

[Cases: Infants 153. C.J.S. Infants §§ 33–35, 41–42, 64, 67.]

youthful offender. 1. A person in late adolescence or early adulthood who has been convicted of a crime. • A youthful offender is often eligible for special programs not available to older offenders, including community supervision, the successful completion of which may lead to erasing the conviction from the offender’s record. [Cases: Infants 69(3). C.J.S. Infants § 211.]

2.JUVENILE DELINQUENT. — Also termed young offender; youth offender. Cf. status offender.

[Blacks Law 8th]