WILLIAM GERALD RICHARDS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Richards appeals the summary denial of his Rule 3.850 motion seeking additional jail time credit against his sentence for community control violation. The appellate court reversed because the trial court failed to explain its denial or attach record portions showing Richards was entitled to no relief, despite applicable statute and case law entitling him to credit for all pre-release jail time.
Richards was entitled to credit for all jail time served, including time before community control release. The trial court erred in summarily denying the motion without explanation and without attaching record portions showing he was entitled to no relief.
[1] A defendant is entitled to credit on a sentence for all jail time served, including time served before release on community control.
[2] A trial court must attach portions of the record that conclusively show a defendant is entitled to no relief when denying a motion without explanation.
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A sentence of imprisonment shall not begin to run before the date it is imposed, but the court imposing a sentence shall allow a defendant credit for all of the time he spent in the county jail before sentence.”
Establishes the statutory requirement for jail time credit under Florida Statute § 921.161(1)
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRichards was arrested in December 1985 on charges to which he later pled guilty and was placed on community control on April 7, 1986. He was arrested …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Fla. Stat. § 921.161(1) Construction cases and more on FLexlaw
MILLS, Judge.
William Gerald Richards appeals from the summary denial of his motion filed pursuant to Rule 3.850, Fla.R.Crim.P. We reverse.
According to Richards’ motion, he was arrested on 15 December 1985 on several charges to which he later pled guilty. As a result of that plea, he was placed on community control on 7 April 1986. On 3 February 1987, he was arrested for violating the conditions of that community control and was thereafter sentenced on 14 May 1987. The sentence imposed by the trial judge reflected credit for the jail time served by Richards from his February 1987 arrest to the May 1987 sentencing, but no credit was given for the time spent in jail after the initial arrest and incarceration in December 1985 until Richards’ placement on community control on 7 April 1986. By the instant motion, Richards sought to correct his sentence by adding the omitted jail time, but the motion was denied without explanation.
Section 921.161(1), Florida Statutes (1985) provides that:
A sentence of imprisonment shall not begin to run before the date it is imposed, but the court imposing a sentence shall allow a defendant credit for all of the time he spent in the county jail before sentence.
Pursuant to this statute a criminal defendant being sentenced after violation of his probation, or in this case community control, is entitled to receive credit on that sentence for all prison or jail time served, including that which preceded his release on community control. Kirkman v. Wainwright, 465 So. 2d 1262, 1263 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985) (emphasis supplied). Accord Crosby v. State, 487 So. 2d 416, 418 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); Chaitman v. State, 495 So. 2d 1231, 1232 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986). Therefore, if the allegations of Richards’ motion be taken as true, it appears that the trial court erred in refusing to credit him with the time spent incarcerated before he was released on community control in April 1986.
However, the circumstances of this case, including the crucial dates of Richards’ original incarceration and his placement on community control, are nowhere reflected in the record or order denying the motion but appear only in the allegations of the motion itself. Because the trial court denied the motion without explanation in the face of the aforementioned statute and case law, it is entirely possible that there are circumstances other than or different from those related in Richards’ motion and implicitly relied on by the trial court to deny that motion. However, the trial court failed, as required by Rule 3.850, to attach to its order those portions of the record that would conclusively show that Richards was entitled to no relief.
Based on the foregoing, the order of the trial court summarily denying Richards’ motion is reversed. On remand, the trial court shall either award the additional jail time credit, if it appears from further perusal of the record that the allegations of Richards’ motion are accurate, or enter a new order denying the motion and attaching those portions of the file and record which conclusively show that Richards is entitled to no relief.
WENTWORTH and BARFIELD, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Miles v. State, 536 So. 2d 262 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)…the statute. § 958.14, Fla.Stat. (1987). On a second point we hold that, upon revocation of the release to community control, a defendant is entitled to credit for all the time served in incarceration pri- or to the revocation. Richards v. State, 521 So. 2d 292, 293 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Pendergrass v. State, 487 So. 2d 35, 36 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). Reversed and remanded for resentencing in accordance with these holdings.…
-
Johnson v. State, 627 So. 2d 114 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)…entitled to additional jail credit time. Therefore, we remand the cause with directions for the lower tribunal to correct the amount of jail credit time consistent with the oral pronouncement. Section 921.161(1), Fla.Stat. (1989); Richards v. State, 521 So. 2d 292, 293 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988) (sentencing court must specify precise amount of time previously served, whether in county jail or state prison). Appellant’s second issue is a challenge to the constitutionality of the habitual felony offender statute. Ap…
-
Smith v. State, 664 So. 2d 1076 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)…n community control. In the Interest of B.A., 546 So. 2d 125 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). After a defendant violates community control, however, and receives a prison sentence, jail time should be credited against the new prison sentence. Richards v. State, 521 So. 2d 292 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). Time spent in juvenile detention is credited like time spent in county jail. E.R. v. State, 584 So. 2d 158 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991). Therefore, the trial court erred in denying credit for Smith’s initial time in detention against his…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Kirkman v. Louie L. Wainwright, 465 So. 2d 1262 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985)
- Culver v. Berkenfeld, 487 So. 2d 416 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)
- Crosby v. State, 487 So. 2d 416 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)
- Chaitman v. State, 495 So. 2d 1231 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986)