NELSON JAMES A/K/A JAMES NELSON, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Nelson James appealed a trial court's denial of his motion for additional pre-sentence jail time credit on Dade County sentences. The Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that a defendant arrested on different dates for separate charges is not entitled to equal jail credit on concurrent sentences, but only credit for time spent in custody related to each particular charge.
A defendant is not entitled to equal jail time credit on concurrent sentences when arrested on different dates for separate charges. Credit is only applied to each sentence for the time spent in jail for the charge resulting in that sentence. James was therefore only entitled to credit for time spent in custody after his May 14, 1998 arrest on the Dade charges, not for time spent on the separate Broward cases.
[1] A defendant is not entitled to equal jail time credit on each concurrent sentence when arrested on different dates for separate charges.
[2] A defendant is only entitled to credit against each sentence for the time spent in jail for the specific charge that resulted in that sentence.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Under Florida law, when concurrent sentences in different cases are involved, a defendant is only entitled to credit against each sentence for the time spent in jail for the charge which resulted in that sentence.”
Establishes the controlling legal rule that jail credit is charge-specific, not transferable across sentences.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJames was in custody on Broward County cases when a warrant for his arrest was issued on May 14, 1998, for third-degree felonies in Dade County. He pl…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant Nelson James appeals an order denying his motion for credit of pre-sentence jail time purportedly earned in two cases, namely 97-26752 and 97-21488, (collectively “Dade cases”). We affirm.
On May 14, 1998, while he was in custody in Broward County on unrelated cases, a warrant for James’ arrest for several third degree felonies committed in Dade County was issued. Ultimately, James pled to the Dade cases and was sentenced on June 3, 1998, to a year and a day. The trial court ordered the sentences to run concurrent with each other and with any other sentences. He received twenty-two and twenty-one days of jail credit time on these cases respectively. On March 12, 1998, James was also sentenced to a year and one day on the Broward offenses. For these eases, he was awarded jail credit time of one hundred thirty-one days, thirty-four days and thirty-four days respectively.
James argues that the Dade trial court failed to award him the appropriate jail credit time on his Dade sentences, which he asserts should have been a total of one hundred and seventeen days. If James were correct, it would result in a release date of December 14, 1998. The State, however, counters that a defendant is not entitled to equal jail time on each concurrent sentence when the defendant is arrested on different dates for separate charges. We agree.
Under Florida law, when concurrent sentences in different cases are involved, a defendant is only entitled to credit against each sentence for the time spent in jail for the charge which resulted in that sentence. See Walker v. State, 579 So. 2d 348, 349 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991) (holding that defendant is entitled to different amount of jail time credit on each sentence when the defendant is arrested at different times for separate charges and stays in jail for different periods of time after each arrest); Keene v. State, 500 So. 2d 592, 594 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); see also Whitney v. State, 493 So. 2d 1077 (Fla. 1st DCA1987) (holding that a defendant is not entitled to equal jail time on each concurrent sentence when the defendant is arrested on different dates for each charge).
Based upon the fact that James’ arrest warrant for the Dade cases was issued May 14,1998, he is entitled to credit for time spent in jail while awaiting sentencing only on his Dade cases; he is not entitled to have his jail time spent on the separate Broward offenses credited to the Dade cases. Additionally, the fact that he may be entitled to a release date of December 14, 1998, on the Broward cases does not entitle him to the same release date on his Dade eases.1 Thus, the trial court correctly denied his motion.
Affirmed.
. The fact that the trial court ordered the sentences herein to run concurrent with the Bro-ward sentences does not alter this decision. See Harris v. State, 557 So. 2d 198 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990) (holding that concurrent sentences are not necessarily coterminous where defendant was arrested on each offense on different dates; defendant may have earned more jail time credit against one sentence than another).
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Salazar v. State, 995 So. 2d 1058 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)…ent arrest dates; instead, when a defendant receives concurrent sentences for different cases, the defendant is entitled to credit against each sentence only for the time spent in jail for the charge resulting in that sentence. E.g., James v. State, 721 So. 2d 1265, 1266 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998); Walker v. State, 579 So. 2d 348 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). Because remanding with directions that the trial court dismiss the motion would not serve the cause of judicial economy, we simply affirm. Compare Richardson v. State, 9…
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Martice D. Spears v. State, 920 So. 2d 187 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)…ecord to refute Mr. Spears’ claim, the post-conviction court denied the motion, concluding that Mr. Spears is entitled only to credit against each sentence for the time spent in jail for the charge that resulted in that sentence. See James v. State, 721 So. 2d 1265 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998). The burden is on the postconviction court to attach portions of the record refuting the rule 3.800(a) claim. Felder v. State, 828 So. 2d 409 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002). Accordingly, we reverse the order and remand for furthei proceedi…
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Cadet v. State, 239 So. 3d 113 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)…nst the defendant. Id. at 505. See also May v. State, 912 So. 2d 326 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005).5 Under these circumstances, Cadet would not be entitled to jail credit in this case for the 5 To the extent we previously held (see, e.g., James v. State, 721 So. 2d 1265 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)) that the mere issuance of an arrest warrant in one county would entitle a defendant to credit for the time he was held in jail in another county on other charges, such holding has implicitly been overruled by the Florida Supreme…
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Keene v. State, 500 So. 2d 592 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)
- Whitney v. State, 493 So. 2d 1077 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)
- Walker v. State, 579 So. 2d 348 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)
- Harris v. State, 557 So. 2d 198 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)