STATE OF FLORIDA, PETITIONER,
v.
MAYNARD WITHERSPOON, RESPONDENT
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The Florida Supreme Court held that the Tripp rule, which requires awarding credit for time served on an original sentence when a defendant is resentenced after probation revocation, applies even when the newly imposed sentence falls within the sentencing guidelines. The Court answered a certified question of great public importance regarding the scope of the Tripp rule's application.
Yes. The Court held that the Tripp rule applies and requires credit for time served to be awarded upon resentencing after probation revocation, regardless of whether the newly imposed sentence falls within the sentencing guidelines. The rule applies because both offenses were factored into the original sentencing through a single scoresheet and must be treated in relation to each other even after a portion of the sentence is violated.
[1] When a defendant is originally sentenced consecutively on a single score-sheet, Tripp v. …
[2] The application of Tripp v. …
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“if a trial court imposes a term of probation on one offense consecutive to a sentence of incarceration on another offense, credit for time served on the first offense must be awarded on the sentence imposed after revocation of probation on the second offense”
Establishes the Tripp rule that requires credit for time served upon resentencing after probation revocation on consecutive sentences
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWitherspoon pleaded guilty to armed burglary and attempted armed robbery. On May 2, 1991, he was sentenced to twenty years on the burglary charge and …
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PER CURIAM.
We have for review a decision of a district court of appeal on the following question, which the court certified to be of great public importance:
[W]hether, if the reason which prompted the Tripp rule is not present, Tripp must apply.1
Witherspoon v. State, 776 So. 2d 984, 985 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. We restate the certified question as follows:
When a defendant is originally sentenced consecutively on a single score-sheet, does the holding in Tripp v. State, 622 So. 2d 941 (Fla.1993), require the granting of credit for time served in prison where the defendant’s newly imposed sentence upon revocation of probation does not exceed the maximum permitted by the sentencing guidelines?
Witherspoon was charged with two counts: (I) armed burglary; and (II) attempted armed robbery. He pled guilty to both charges and was sentenced on May 2, 1991, to twenty years’ imprisonment on count I and five years’ probation on count II to run consecutively to count I. Wither-spoon’s permitted sentencing range was twelve to twenty-seven years as calculated on his amended scoresheet, and with the one-cell bump up, his sentencing maximum was forty years.2
On July 6, 1999, Witherspoon was released from prison and began serving his probationary sentence on count II (attempted armed robbery). On January 6, 2000, an affidavit of violation was filed against him, and his probation was revoked. Witherspoon was then sentenced to the statutory maximum for count II3— fifteen years’ incarceration — without any credit for jail time served on the original burglary charge. The Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded for the trial court to award credit for time previously served on count I and certified the aforementioned question regarding whether this Court’s opinion in Tripp v. State, 622 So. 2d 941 (Fla.1993), applied to a case where the award of credit was unnecessary to ensure that the defendant’s total prison time did not exceed the guidelines range. Witherspoon v. State, 776 So. 2d 984, 986 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). We have answered the certified question in the affirmative in Hodgdon v. State, 789 So. 2d 968 (Fla.2001).
In Hodgdon, this Court specifically stated that an application of Tripp was not precluded where the newly imposed sentences were within the guidelines. Id. at 962. We reasoned that “both offenses were factors that were weighed in the original sentencing through the use of a single scoresheet and must continue to be treated in relation to each other, even after a portion of the sentence has been violated.” Hodgdon v. State, 789 So. 2d at 963 (quoting Tripp v. State, 622 So. 2d 941, 942 (Fla.1993)). Consistent with Hodgdon, we hold that Tripp should be applied notwithstanding the fact that the newly imposed sentence is within the guidelines.
We therefore approve the decision of the district court of appeal and answer the certified question in the affirmative.
It is so ordered.
SHAW, HARDING, ANSTEAD, PARIENTE, and LEWIS, JJ., concur. WELLS, C.J., dissents with an opinion, in which QUINCE, J., concurs.
. The referenced rule from Tripp v. State, 622 So. 2d 941, 942 (Fla.1993), provides:
[I]f a trial court imposes a term of probation on one offense consecutive to a sentence of incarceration on another offense, credit for time served on the first offense must be awarded on the sentence imposed after revocation of probation on the second offense.
. "Witherspoon’s original guideline maximum was reflected to be 22 years. At resentencing in this case, an error was found in the original scoresheet and was, without objection, corrected to reflect a maximum of 27 years so that, with the one cell bump-up, 40 years less Witherspoon’s original sentence remained available to the trial court." Witherspoon v. State, 776 So. 2d 984, 985 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001); see Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.701(d)(14).
.Attempted armed robbery is a second-degree felony which carries a statutory maximum of fifteen years. See §§ 812.13, 921.0012(3), 777.04, 775.082(3)(c), Fla. Stat. (2000).
WELLS, C.J.,
dissenting.
I dissent because I do not believe that the rule of Tripp should apply in this instance. I would quash the Fifth District’s decision and apply the well-reasoned opinion of Judge Cope in Priester v. State, 711 So. 2d 177 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998), with which the Fifth District also agreed in this case.
QUINCE, J., concurs.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (11 total)
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Geanetta Moore v. State, 882 So. 2d 977 (Fla. 2004)…t examined this Court’s decision in Tripp, and outlined the subsequent decisions from this Court applying and extending Tripp, including Cook v. State, 645 So. 2d 436 (Fla.1994); Hodgdon v. State, 789 So. 2d 958 (Fla.2001); and State v. Witherspoon, 810 So. 2d 871 (Fla.2002). The district court affirmed the trial court’s denial of relief, holding that Tripp and its progeny did not constitute binding precedent, as they involved sentencing pursuant to the sentencing guidelines, while Moore was sentenced under t…1 / 3
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State v. Matthews, 891 So. 2d 479 (Fla. 2004)…elines by treating sentences computed on one scoresheet as an interrelated unit. Tripp was never intended to provide a sentencing boon or windfall to defendants upon violations of probation.” Id. Finally, we addressed Tripp in State v. Witherspoon, 810 So. 2d 871 (Fla.2002). Specifically, we considered the following certified question: When a defendant is originally sentenced consecutively on a single score-sheet, does the holding in Tripp v. State, 622 So. 2d 941 (Fla.1993), require the granting of credit…
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Gibson v. Fla. Dep't OF Corr., 885 So. 2d 376 (Fla. 2004)…ripp, this Court reaffirmed that because of the continuing interrelationship of sentences originally imposed together, “Tripp should be applied notwithstanding the fact that the newly imposed sentence is within the guidelines.” State v. Witherspoon, 810 So. 2d 871, 873 (Fla.2002). Thus, we held in a single-scoresheet scenario that an offender was entitled to Tripp credit even though the sentence imposed upon violation of probation would not exceed the maximum overall guidelines sentence when combined with the…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Tripp v. State, 622 So. 2d 941 (Fla. 1993)
- Priester v. State, 711 So. 2d 177 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)
- Maynard Witherspoon v. State, 776 So. 2d 984 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)