GEORGE A. NELSON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Nelson appealed the denial of his motions to clarify his sentence, claiming he was not properly credited for time served in county jail. The court reversed and remanded, finding that the jail credit certificate contained a discrepancy that warranted further clarification regarding whether Nelson deserved additional jail time credits.
The court reversed the denial of Nelson's motions and remanded the case for the trial court to verify whether the jail credit certificate contained a clerical error or to award the additional jail credit Nelson sought.
[1] Alleged errors in the award of jail credit are properly addressed in motions filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) when the trial court records af…
[2] A trial court record that contains a jail credit certificate reflecting a period of incarceration but a significantly shorter number of credited days does not conclusivel…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“alleged errors in awards of jail credit are properly addressed in motions filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) 'when it is affirmatively alleged that the trial court records demonstrate on their face an entitlement to relief.'”
Establishes the proper procedural mechanism for challenging jail credit awards and the standard for relief.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceNelson was incarcerated in Columbia County jail from October 5, 1995, to December 16, 1996. A jail credit certificate from the sheriff's office stated…
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PER CURIAM.
Nelson appeals the denial of motions seeking to clarify his sentence, in which he asserted he had not been properly credited for time served in county jail before sentencing. Recently, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that alleged errors in awards of jail credit are properly addressed in motions filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) “when it is affirmatively alleged that the trial court records demonstrate on their face an entitlement to relief.” See State v. Mancino, 714 So. 2d 429 (Fla.1998).
Nelson alleged he was improperly credited with jail time served in case number 95-614. The record contains a jail credit certificate from the office of the sheriff of Columbia County which appears to support his allegation. The document reflects that Nelson was incarcerated in the county jail from October 5, 1995, to December 16, 1996, but also recites that he was confined for only 72 days. Clearly, if he was confined from October of 1995 until December of 1996, more than 72 days are involved. While it is possible that there is a clerical error in this document, as it stands, the record does not conclusively refute Nelson’s allegation that he has not received proper jail time credit. This case is somewhat similar to Coleman v. State, 714 So. 2d 1172 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998), in which the court identified what may have been a crucial clerical error, but remanded because the record did not conclusively refute the appellant’s allegation.
Although Nelson did not cite rule 3.800(a) in his motion, “[t]he courts have the authority to treat prisoner petitions as if the proper remedy were sought if it would be in the interest of justice to do so.” See Hall v. State, 643 So. 2d 635 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994), citing Fenter v. State, 632 So. 2d 685 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994). The trial court addressed the jail credit issue in its orders, and because a clear discrepancy appears in the record in this case, we believe it appropriate to treat the case as though filed under the proper rule.
REVERSED and REMANDED to verify whether the record contains a clerical error, or to award the additional credit sought.
JOANOS, WOLF and LAWRENCE, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Sanchez v. State, 745 So. 2d 1007 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)…e State v. Mancino, 714 So. 2d 429, 433 (Fla.1998) (holding that “credit time issues are cognizable in a rule 3.800 motion when it is affirmatively alleged that the court records demonstrate on their face an entitlement to relief’); Nelson v. State, 720 So. 2d 1104 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998) (holding possible clerical error regarding amount of jail time served warranted clarification of sentence under rule 3.800). Sanchez attached to his motion the sheriffs certificates for this case and case CF97-06487B to support h…
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Olson Joseph v. State, 16 So. 3d 946 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009)…also appears to allege that the jailer’s certificate under subsection 921.161(2), Florida Statutes, was incorrect. That claim is also cognizable in a Rule 3.800(a) motion. Sanchez v. State, 745 So. 2d 1007, 1008 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999); Nelson v. State, 720 So. 2d 1104, 1105 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998). Where a claim of this type has been summarily denied, on appeal this court must reverse “unless the record shows conclusively that the appellant is entitled to no relief....” Fla. RApp. P. 9.141(b)(2)(D). In this case the…
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Denty v. State, 731 So. 2d 789 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)…credit certificates from the Columbia County Detention Center preclusive effect. See Boston v. State, 24 Fla. L. Weekly D621, D621, 728 So. 2d 326 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999) (noting “mathematical error which resulted in a miscalculation”); Nelson v. State, 720 So. 2d 1104, 1105 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998) (noting “what may have been a crucial clerical error”). It is ultimately for the court, not the jailer, to ascertain “the amount of time ... served in jail prior to sentencing.” Walker v. State, 650 So. 2d 233, 233 (Fla. 1s…
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
- State v. Mancino, 714 So. 2d 429 (Fla. 1998)
- Hall v. State, 643 So. 2d 635 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)
- Fenter v. State, 632 So. 2d 685 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994)
- Coleman v. State, 714 So. 2d 1172 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)