Massa, J.
A jury convicted Joey Jennings of criminal mischief as a Class B misdemeanor for vandalizing another man’s truck. The trial court sentenced him to 30 days executed, 150 days suspended, and 360 days of probation. Jennings appealed, arguing that 1) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and 2) his sentence was illegal under Indiana Code § 35-50-3-1(b) (2008), which states “whenever the court suspends in whole or in part a sentence for a Class A, Class B, or Class C misdemeanor, it may place the person on probation under IC 35-38-2 for a fixed period of not more than one (1) year, notwithstanding the maximum term of imprisonment for the misdemeanor set forth in sections 2 through 4 of this chapter. However, the combined term of imprisonment and probation for a misdemeanor may not exceed one (1) year.”
The Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part, finding the evidence sufficient to support Jennings’s conviction but finding the sentence was inconsistent with Indiana Code § 35-50-3-1(b). Jennings v. State, 956 N.E.2d 203, 208 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011). The court reasoned “term of imprisonment” was not defined in the Indiana Code and the courts had not settled on a definition. The court concluded that for purposes of the misdemeanor sentencing statute, “term of imprisonment” must include not only executed time, but also suspended time. Thus, in order to comply with the statute, the aggregate sentence—including time executed, suspended, and on probation—may not exceed one year. Accordingly, the court remanded the case for a redetermination of Jennings’s period of probation, not to exceed 185 days.
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In 1993, we established a guiding principle for misdemeanor sentencing, holding that “a combined term of probation and imprisonment exceeding one year is inconsistent with the maximum term for conviction for a misdemeanor.” Smith v. State, 621 N.E.2d 325, 326 (Ind. 1993). We now clarify our holding in Smith: a combined term of probation and imprisonment may not exceed one year, notwithstanding the maximum term of imprisonment for the misdemeanor. We further hold that “term of imprisonment,” for purposes of misdemeanor sentencing, does not include suspended time.
A. Smith v. State
Dennis Smith was convicted of battery, a Class A misdemeanor, and sentenced to one year imprisonment with 255 days suspended, to be followed by a one-year probation period. Smith argued on appeal that the trial court’s imposition of one year of probation, in addition to his 110-day executed sentence, was not proper because a person convicted of a Class A misdemeanor may be imprisoned for a period of not more than one year. We found that “[w]hile the trial court may have had sound reasons for the sentence it imposed, it was error to extend a misdemeanant’s penalty to a term exceeding the one-year statutory limitation, whether by imposition of a prison sentence, an assessment of probation under a suspended sentence, or a combination thereof.” Id. Importantly, probation and suspended sentence were considered together as two parts of the same whole.
When this Court decided Smith, Indiana’s misdemeanor sentencing law provided “whenever the court suspends a sentence for a misdemeanor, it may place the person on probation . . . for a fixed period of not more than one (1) year.” Id. (quoting Ind. Code § 35-50-3-1(b) (1993)). Thus, probation, under the statute, could last for up to one year beyond the executed time served. This Court, in Smith, held that time served in prison plus probation could not exceed the statutory limitation. Id. The effect of the Court’s ruling was to amend the statute by limiting a combination of time spent incarcerated and on probation to the corresponding maximum sentence possible under law. [Footnote omitted.] The Court based its decision on an “absence of clear legislative authorization to the contrary,” and applied the principles used in felony sentencing [footnote omitted] to determine that imprisonment and probation could not exceed the statutory maximum. Id.
While this Court may have intended the combination of imprisonment and sentence suspended to probation to be limited to the maximum term prescribed in statute, it appears judicial practice did not follow that pronouncement. After Smith was handed down, some trial courts imposed probation for Class B and Class C misdemeanors so that the probation period plus the sentence exceeded the statutory maximum for the misdemeanor, but did not exceed one year—a practice clearly in contravention of this Court’s Smith decision. So, in an effort to remedy the inconsistency between precedent and practice, the legislature amended the statute in 2001 as follows (amendments in bold):
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c), whenever the court suspends in whole or in part a sentence for a Class A, Class B, or Class C misdemeanor, it may place the person on probation under IC 35-38-2 for a fixed period of not more than one (1) year, notwithstanding the maximum term of imprisonment for the misdemeanor set forth in sections 2 through 4 of this chapter. However, the combined term of imprisonment and probation for a misdemeanor may not exceed one (1) year.
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Conclusion
For the purpose of Indiana Code § 35-50-3-1, “term of imprisonment” means the total amount of time a misdemeanant is incarcerated. Further, regardless of the maximum sentence available under Indiana Code §§ 35-50-3-2, 35-50-3-3, and 35-50-3-4, the combined term of imprisonment and probation for a misdemeanor may not exceed one year. We therefore remand this case to the trial court for imposition of a probationary period consistent with this opinion, not to exceed 335 days—the difference between one year (365 days) and the 30 days Jennings was ordered to serve in prison.
Dickson, C.J., and Rucker, David, and Rush, JJ., concur.