Under Article 730, the aggregate of the periods prescribed in the temporary order of commitment, the first order of retention, and all subsequent orders of retention must not exceed what fraction of the authorized maximum term of imprisonment for the highest class felony charged in the indictment or for the highest class felony of which the defendant was convicted?

• A. 1/2
• B. 2/3
• C. 3/4
• D. 1

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that there’s a limit on how long a person can be held under temporary commitment and retention orders before trial. The total time of the temporary commitment plus the first retention order and all later retention orders must not exceed two-thirds of the maximum imprisonment term for the highest-class felony charged or for the highest-class felony of which the defendant was convicted. This fractional cap keeps pretrial detention proportionate to the seriousness of the offense and protects liberty while allowing time for evaluation and safety concerns.

For example, if the highest-class felony carries a maximum of 18 years, two-thirds of that is 12 years, so the combined periods of all those orders cannot exceed 12 years.

The other fractions would either restrict detention too much or permit more time than the statute allows, so they don’t fit the rule specified.