CHARLES BIRDSONG, 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.
Florida appellate court affirmed denial of jail credit motion filed under Rule 3.800(a), holding that gain-time claims by county prisoners must be pursued through administrative channels rather than post-conviction motions, though correcting the trial court's erroneous conclusion that the Department of Corrections has exclusive authority over county prisoner gain time.
Gain-time claims by county prisoners are not properly raised in Rule 3.800(a) motions and must be addressed through available administrative avenues.
[1] Gain-time credit claims by county prisoners must be pursued through administrative channels rather than post-conviction Rule 3.800(a) motions.
[2] County boards of commissioners, not the Department of Corrections, have authority to award gain-time credits for county prisoners under Florida Statute 951.21.
Previewing 2 of 2 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“the local board of county commissioners has authority to commute gain time for good behavior for county prisoners”
Court's correction of trial court's erroneous conclusion regarding authority over county prisoner gain time
Charles Birdsong, a county prisoner, filed motions in circuit court seeking trusty status to earn gain time for his county jail sentence. The trial co…
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 Gain Time cases and more on FLexlaw
VILLANTI, Judge.
Charles Birdsong appeals the denial of his motions for jail credit filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). Birdsong is a county prisoner, and he filed a motion for jail credit in the circuit court seeking “trusty” status in order to earn gain time to be applied to his county jail sentence. The trial court denied the motion, stating that Birdsong must address this issue with the Department of Corrections (DOC) because the DOC has the exclusive authority to regulate gain time. Birdsong then filed another motion for jail credit raising the same claim and arguing that he is in the custody of Polk County, and the trial court denied the motion as successive.
We affirm the trial court orders denying Birdsong’s motions because such a claim is not properly raised in a rule 3.800(a) motion and should be addressed through any available administrative avenues. See Swain v. State, 795 So. 2d 1031 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). However, the trial court erred in concluding that the DOC has exclusive authority to award gain time because Birdsong is not in the DOC’s custody. We note, without commenting on the merits of Birdsong’s claim for gain time, that Birdsong is a county prisoner and the local board of county commissioners has authority to commute gain time for good behav ior for county prisoners. See § 951.21, Fla. Stat. (2002).
Affirmed.
SALCINES and SILBERMAN, JJ., Concur.