Time Served in Indiana: A More Complicated Calculation Than You Might Expect

You don’t have to be an attorney to be familiar with the phrase “time served”—you need only be a veteran viewer of Law & Order or Boston Legal. Yet, even an experienced lawyer could get confused about what “time served” means, as state law makes the matter more complicated than the average Indianan might expect.

To calculate time served in Indiana (also known as “credit time”), we must understand the individual’s offense, sentence, accrued credit, good time credit, and educational credit. Matters of the law are always complicated, and speaking with an experienced lawyer can make those matters far simpler. Call Razumich & Associates today at 317-983-5333 or contact us online to discuss your case and get the answers you seek.

The Formula for Calculating Time Served in Indiana

Indiana law breaks down “credit time” into three elements:

1. Accrued time, which is “the amount of time that a person is imprisoned or confined,”—this single element is what most people think “time served” means
2. Good time credit, which is “a reduction in a person’s term of imprisonment or confinement awarded for the person’s good behavior while imprisoned or confined.”
3. Educational credit, which is an additional reduction in time served that a person can earn for completing educational and vocational courses

Collectively, these elements amount to “credit time.” How do we use this definition? Here are the two respective formulas that allow you to make sense of the above definitions: 

• Accrued time + good time credit + educational credit = credit time
• The offender’s total sentence – credit time = time remaining before the offender becomes eligible for release, parole, or a transition program

Keep in mind that if an offender is accused of bad behavior during their sentence, this can obscure their time-served calculation.

One’s Credit Class Must Also Be Factored Into the Formula

When we discuss one’s “good time credit,” you can think of it like an employer matching an employee’s retirement contributions. That is, for someone in the Class A credit-time class, they receive one day of “good time credit” for each day they are imprisoned, confined while awaiting legal proceedings, or on home detention before trial.

That being said, not everyone receives such a “full match,” to use 401(k) lingo. Some people receive no good-time credit, while others might receive one day’s credit for every three, four, or six days of actual time accrued, depending on how they are confined, the severity of the offense they are convicted of, and the nature of their detention.

What Could Be More Important Than Your Release? Call Razumich & Associates for an Indiana Law Firm That Will Fight for You

Understanding your credit time helps you know how long you have before you’re granted a shot at freedom. What could be more important than that? This calculation is the embodiment of hope, and the answer that the calculation produces tells you how many “days” you are “counting down” while “counting down the days.”

Call Razumich & Associates today at 317-983-5333 or contact us online to discuss your case and your credit time. We fight for clients to serve as little time as possible in the most favorable confinement circumstances available, and we help many clients avoid serving time altogether.