The following excerpt is from U.S. v. Elrod, 42 F.3d 1403 (9th Cir. 1994):
The district court's intent governs the interpretation of a sentencing order. Id. at 507. Because the conditions of probation may apply to a defendant while incarcerated, it is possible for a probationary term to run concurrently with a custodial term. Id. When a sentencing order is silent as to when the probationary term commences, there is a strong presumption that probation commences on the date the sentence is imposed as opposed to the date the incarceration ends. Id. at 506-07 (presumption applies when sentencing "order does not clearly and literally state probation is to follow the jail term"); United States v. Adair, 681 F.2d 1150, 1151 (9th Cir.1982) (presumption applies when "order does not with fair certainty reveal when the court intended the probationary term to commence").
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