How to Use first offender in a Sentence
first offender
noun- Because he was a first offender, he was put on probation rather than sentenced to jail.
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Like whiskey, the penalties are stiff: A first offender risks a $500 fine and a weeklong suspension of the bar’s liquor license.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 4 Apr. 2018
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Kaderli had no additional charges in jail, and Niedrach granted his request to be treated as a first offender.
—Chris Joyner, ajc, 19 Nov. 2021
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Prison, for nonviolent first offenders, is more of a problem than a solution.
—Conrad Black, National Review, 2 Oct. 2019
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Stone faces a maximum 50 years in prison for the charges, although a first offender would face far less time under federal sentencing guidelines.
—Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2019
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In 2009, he was charged with underage drinking, a case that also was later dismissed under a first offender's program.
—Author: Robert O'Harrow Jr., Shawn Boburg, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Mar. 2018
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The charge of making false statements carries up to a five-year prison sentence, but federal guidelines for a first offender include probation.
—Washington Post, 3 Sep. 2019
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But Mr Sessions also wants to lock up first offenders, who can be detained for up to six months by immigration authorities.
—The Economist, 2 June 2018
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Laye also faces charges of obstruction of an officer and possession of a firearm by a first offender probationer.
—Raisa Habersham, ajc, 13 June 2018
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Chartier argued that jail was an unfit punishment for Klages as a non-violent first offender, and because of her age and a heart murmur, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.
—Anna Liz Nichols, Star Tribune, 4 Aug. 2020
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Crossing the border without documents and attempting to elude border authorities is a misdemeanor for first offenders.
—Caitlin Dickerson, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2019
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No nonviolent first offender, other than a perpetrator of egregious crimes, such as Bernard Madoff, should be imprisoned; they should be punished in other, more efficient and less costly ways, such as obligatory spartan living and contributed work.
—Conrad Black, National Review, 2 Oct. 2019
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Bjerke was one of the first offenders identified in Virginia using forensic genealogy, an increasingly common technique for solving cold cases where police have little evidence beyond DNA.
—Rachel Weiner, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2019
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'first offender.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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