MILTON JAY, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1983-12-13
No. 82-1362
Before HENDRY, HUBBART and JOR-GENSON, JJ.
443 So. 2d 186 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1983) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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Synopsis

Milton Jay appeals his conviction for grand theft and carrying a concealed firearm, challenging the trial court's denial of his speedy trial motion. The appellate court reversed, holding that the trial court violated Florida's speedy trial rule by failing to commence trial within 90 days of denying his motion for discharge.


Holding

The court reversed Jay's conviction and discharged him because the trial court violated the clear mandate of Rule 3.191(d)(3) by failing to commence trial within 90 days of the denial of his discharge motion. The State's desire to reset this case with another pending case against the defendant and its prosecutorial procedures cannot unlawfully extend the speedy trial period.


Headnotes

[1] When a motion for discharge is denied, trial must commence within 90 days of the order of denial.

[2] A defendant is entitled to discharge if trial does not commence within 90 days of the denial of a motion for discharge.

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Key Quotes

“when a pending motion for discharge is denied, trial shall be scheduled and commenced within 90 days of a written or recorded order of denial”

Establishes the mandatory 90-day requirement under Rule 3.191(d)(3) after a discharge motion is denied

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Facts & Procedural History

Jay was arrested March 6, 1981, and charged with firearm offenses. After announcing ready for trial on May 26, 1981, the court continued the case. The…

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Opinion of the Court
HENDRY, Judge.

HENDRY, Judge.

Milton Jay, defendant below, appeals from his conviction of grand theft, second degree and carrying a concealed firearm. We reverse on the basis of the violation of Rule 3.191(d)(3), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Appellant was arrested on March 6,1981, and charged by information with carrying a concealed firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

On May 26, 1981, appellant announced ready for trial but the trial court, on its own motion, continued the trial because appellant only recently retained private counsel and because the name of a defense witness was given to the State only that day.

The trial court, over defense objections, charged the continuance to the appellant.

On July 6, 1981, the State filed a nolle prosequi on the charges against appellant and then filed the instant charges on December 3, 1981. The instant charges were grounded on the same conduct or criminal episode as the earlier charges.

On February 8, 1982, appellant moved for a discharge pursuant to Rule 3.191(d)(1), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, which motion was denied. The trial was then set for March 23, 1982. On that date, the trial was once again continued because the State wanted this case reset with another, separate case pending against appellant. Appellant again moved for discharge, this time pursuant to Rule 3.191(d)(3), on May 11, 1982, which was the 91st day after the denial of the earlier motion for discharge. The motion was denied and appellant went on to trial.

The jury found him guilty on both counts.

The language of Rule 3.191(d)(3), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, is absolutely clear: when a pending motion for discharge is denied, trial shall be scheduled and commenced within 90 days of a written or recorded order of denial. Because the language of the rule is clear, so is the law in this area. In Butterworth v. Fluellen, 389 So. 2d 968 (Fla.1980), the Florida Supreme Court held that:

In the event a defendant believes he has been denied his right to [a] speedy trial within a reasonable time and files a motion for discharge, a denial of that motion requires that the defendant be brought to trial within 90 days of the denial of defendant’s motion pursuant to Rule 3.191(d)(3).

Id. at 970 (e.s.). See also State v. Lazarus, 433 So. 2d 1314 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); State v. McCrery, 429 So. 2d 739 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983); Brownlee v. State, 427 So. 2d 1106 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); State v. Freeman, 412 So. 2d 452 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982); Rogers v. Keating, 411 So. 2d 231 (Fla. 5th DCA), rev. denied, 419 So. 2d 1200 (Fla.1982).

The record is clear that appellant was ready to go to trial on these charges on February 8, 1982 and that appellant made no requests for continuances between the dates of February 8 and May 11, 1982. Trial should have commenced on or before May 10, 1982. The fact that the State moved, on March 23, 1982, to reset this trial with another pending case against appellant is immaterial. Crimes not involving the “same conduct or criminal episode” have separate speedy trial periods which run from the date the defendant is taken into custody on each of the charges. State v. Deratany, 410 So. 2d 977 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982); State v. Van Winkle, 407 So. 2d 1059 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981).

Additionally, the State may not use its prosecuting procedures to unlawfully extend a speedy trial period. State v. Kelly, 407 So. 2d 257 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981).

Because we find that appellant’s May 11, 1982 motion for discharge should have been granted, the other issues appellant raises on appeal are now moot.

Denial of appellant’s motion for discharge is reversed and appellant is discharged as to this cause only.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Bertrand Obanion v. State, 496 So. 2d 977 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)
    …its face, then, it would appear that the defendant has presented a prima facie claim that his motion for discharge should have been granted below based on the controlling authority of Butterworth v. Fluellen, 389 So. 2d 968 (Fla.1980); Jay v. State, 443 So. 2d 186 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983). To avoid this inevitable result, however, the state urges two positions. First, the state contends that the denial of the defendant’s petition for a writ of prohibition establishes, as the law of the case, that the defendant’s sp…

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