STANLEY THOMAS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Stanley Thomas appealed the trial court's denial of his motion to correct an allegedly illegal sentence under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a), claiming entitlement to 625 days of jail-time credit rather than the 247 days awarded. The appellate court reversed and remanded, holding that when a defendant alleges specific dates of jail-time service and the trial court has awarded some credit, the court must attach portions of the record to support any denial of the motion.
The court held that Thomas presented a facially sufficient claim for jail-time credit by alleging specific dates and periods of incarceration. When a trial court awards some jail-time credit, it cannot summarily deny additional credit claims without attaching record portions that refute the defendant's allegations or noting the absence of information regarding credit due.
[1] A motion to correct an illegal sentence under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) is the appropriate vehicle for an award of jail-time credit when the issue can b…
[2] A motion for award of jail-time credit under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) is generally facially sufficient when the defendant provides the commencement dat…
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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.”
This statutory provision establishes the defendant's entitlement to jail-time credit under Florida Statutes section 921.161.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThomas was incarcerated in county jail for the charges from June 25, 1989 until January 24, 1990, and from February 7, 1990 until April 26, 1991. He f…
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JOANOS, Judge.
Appellee, the State of Florida, seeks rehearing or clarification of the opinion issued September 22, 1993, which affirmed the trial court’s denial of appellant’s motion for post-conviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, but reversed the denial of appellant’s motion to correct sentence pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). See Thomas v. State, (Fla. 1st DCA 1993) [18 Fla.L.Weekly D2096]. We deny the motion for rehearing, but grant the motion for clarification. The prior opinion is withdrawn, and the following is substituted therefor. Appellant, Stanley Thomas, appeals the summary denial of his motion to correct an allegedly illegal sentence, under the provisions of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). He claimed entitlement to 625 days credit for jail time served, rather than the 247 days awarded by the trial court. Appellant also appeals the summary denial of his motion for post-conviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, in which he alleged his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance. We affirm the order denying the rule 3.850 motion, without discussion; however, we reverse the order denying the rule 3.800(a) motion, and remand for further proceedings.
In a sworn motion, appellant alleged that he was incarcerated in the county jail for the charges in this case from June 25,1989, until January 24,1990, and from February 7,1990, until April 26, 1991, thereby entitling him to credit of 625 days for these periods of time. The trial court denied the motion to correct an illegal sentence, finding appellant failed to meet his burden of proving that he is entitled to additional credit for jail time served, in that he failed to provide record evidence to support his contention. Based upon its consideration of the case file and relevant law, the trial court found appellant’s motion failed to establish sufficient grounds for relief.
Because we concluded appellant’s allegations concerning jail-time credit warranted further inquiry, we requested the Attorney General’s staff to respond to the allegations of appellant’s rule 3.800(a) motion. The state’s brief argues that (1) appellant failed to support his 'prima facie case with appropriate documents; and (2) under rule 3.800(a), the state and trial court are not required to determine the amount of presen-tenee time a prisoner served.
At the outset, appellant’s entitlement to credit for jail-time served arises from section 921.161, Florida Statutes, which provides in pertinent part:
(1) 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. The credit must be for a specified period of time and shall be provided for in the sentence.
(2) In addition to other credits, a person sentenced to imprisonment in custody of the Department of Corrections shall receive credit on his sentence for all time spent between sentencing and being placed in custody of the department....
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) does not state in express terms that the trial court must attach portions of the record to refute allegations of a facially sufficient motion to correct illegal sentence. However, the district courts of appeal subscribe to the attachment requirement with respect to rule 3.800(a) proceedings. See, e.g., Ransom v. State, 601 So. 2d 279 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992); Baranko v. State, 516 So. 2d 332, 333 n. 1 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Inclima v. State, 625 So. 2d 978 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993); Littlejohn v. State, 616 So. 2d 129 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Thomas v. State, 611 So. 2d 600 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Hayes v. State, 610 So. 2d 737 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Sampson v. State, 598 So. 2d 211 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992); Terry v. State, 567 So. 2d 1050 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990). In Inclima, the court observed that “[t]his requirement is now specifically contained in Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(g), which became effective on January 1, 1993.”1
We recognize there are situations where the circuit court would have no information as to jail-time credit due. However, here the trial court awarded appellant credit of 247 days for jail-time served, suggesting that this case does not fall within that category of “silent record” cases.
A rule 3.800(a) motion is the appropriate vehicle for an award of jail-time credit when the issue can be determined by the trial court through a review of its records. Thomas, 611 So. 2d at 601; Judge v. State, 596 So. 2d 73 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991), review denied, 613 So. 2d 5 (Fla.1992). Generally, a rule 3.800(a) motion for award of jail-time credit is deemed facially sufficient when the defendant provides the commencement date of the sentence against which credit is due, together with the dates for which jail-time credit is claimed. See Morgan v. State, 557 So. 2d 605, 606 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); Baranko, 516 So. 2d at 333 n. 1; Littlejohn, 616 So. 2d at 130; Thomas, 611 So. 2d 211; Mathews v. State, 596 So. 2d 79 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991); Sanders v. State, 579 So. 2d 326 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991); Terry, 567 So. 2d 1050.
Appellant in this case alleged the specific dates and periods of time involved in his claims for jail-time credit, thereby suggesting the issue is determinable by a review of the circuit court records. In fact, the state recognizes that appellant presented a facially sufficient claim for correction of sentence. It is clear that the trial court is in a better position to provide portions of the record which support the court’s ruling on a jail-time credit motion than is the incarcerated defendant. In the particular circumstances of this case, the jail-time credit question is proper for consideration under rule 3.800(a).
Accordingly, the order denying appellant’s rule 3.800(a) motion is reversed. Upon remand, if the trial court again determines the rule 3.800(a) motion should be denied, the order should be supported by those portions of the record which refute appellant’s claim of entitlement to additional jail-time credit. If the circuit court record is silent with re gard to jail-time credit, the order denying the motion should note the absence of any information as to credit due for jail-time served.
SMITH and KAHN, JJ., concur. . Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(g), provides:
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Cited By (37 total)
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State v. Mancino, 714 So. 2d 429 (Fla. 1998)…Carver v. State, 653 So. 2d 510 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995); Stevens v. State, 651 So. 2d 1298, 1299-1300 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995); Rouse v. State, 643 So. 2d 1159, 1160 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994); Handford v. State, 637 So. 2d 958 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994); Thomas v. State, 634 So. 2d 175, 177 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994); Thomas v. State, 611 So. 2d 600, 601 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). While recognizing, as Judge Altenbernd had pointed out in his en banc opinion in Judge v. State, 596 So. 2d 73, 77 (Fla. 2d DCA) (en banc), review denied, 613 So. 2d…
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Collins v. State, 854 So. 2d 812 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003)…the record supporting its conclusion that the appellant was not entitled to additional jail credit. However, the appellant is not entitled to relief because he has failed to supply the dates for which he is claiming jail credit. See Thomas v. State, 634 So. 2d 175,177 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994). AFFIRMED. WOLF, C.J., LEWIS and POLSTON, JJ., Concur.…
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Loring Spencer Jones v. State, 635 So. 2d 41 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)…v. State, 556 So. 2d 778 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990), in which this court stated “[a] sentence which does not allow for proper credit is an illegal sentence_ Under Rule 3.800, an illegal sentence may be corrected at any time.” Recently in Thomas v. State, 634 So. 2d 175 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994) we followed the rationale articulated in Thomas v. State, 611 So. 2d 600 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993) and Judge that a rule 3.800 motion “is designed to test issues that should not involve significant questions of fact or require a lengthy…
Previewing 3 of 37 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (13 total)
- Judge v. State, 596 So. 2d 73 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)
- Thomas v. State, 611 So. 2d 600 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)
- Inclima v. State, 625 So. 2d 978 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)
- Morgan v. State, 557 So. 2d 605 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990)
- Terry v. State, 567 So. 2d 1050 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990)
- Sanders v. State, 579 So. 2d 326 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)
- Littlejohn v. State, 616 So. 2d 129 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)
- Baranko v. State, 516 So. 2d 332 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)
- Renaldo L. Sampson v. State, 598 So. 2d 211 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992)
- Hayes v. State, 610 So. 2d 737 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)