WILLIAM T. MCLEOD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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McLeod challenges denial of his motion for additional jail credit after pleading guilty to a probation violation. The court holds that while defendants can waive jail credit in plea agreements, such a waiver cannot result in a sentence exceeding the statutory maximum for the offense, making McLeod's sentence illegal.
A defendant may not waive jail credit in a plea agreement if it results in serving a term of imprisonment exceeding the statutory maximum for the offense. The phrase 'CTS from arrest on any future V.O.P.' is not conclusive evidence of a knowing and voluntary waiver. The court reversed and remanded to determine whether McLeod knowingly and voluntarily waived jail credit.
[1] A sentence exceeding the statutory maximum for an offense is illegal, even if agreed to by the defendant as part of a plea agreement.
[2] A waiver of jail credit in a plea agreement must be knowing and voluntary, and must affirmatively appear as a condition of the agreement.
Previewing 2 of 4 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“Although a defendant can waive jail credit as a condition of a plea, the waiver must be knowing and affirmatively appear as a condition of the plea agreement.”
Establishes the standard for valid jail credit waivers in plea agreements
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMcLeod, convicted of a third-degree felony with a maximum statutory sentence of five years, entered a plea agreement for his probation violation that …
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AMENDED OPINION
William T. McLeod seeks review of the trial court’s summary denial of his motion seeking additional jail credit filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). The issue that we address is whether a defendant can, as part of a plea agreement, waive jail credit, which results in the defendant serving a term of imprisonment that exceeds the statutory maximum for the offense that he committed. We conclude that such a sentence is illegal and reverse the order under review.
McLeod’s original sentence for a third-degree felony included a period of probation.1 The maximum sentence allowed by law for a third-degree felony is a term of imprisonment not to exceed five years. See § 775.082(B)(d), Fla. Stat. (2007). Following his second violation of probation, McLeod entered into a plea agreement with the State wherein he admitted his most recent violation in exchange for a five-year prison sentence, suspended upon the successful completion of five years of drugoffender probation. Included in the written plea agreement was the following language: “CTS from arrest on any future V.O.P.”2 The trial court accepted the plea agreement and the agreed-upon sentence was imposed.
Not surprisingly, McLeod violated his probation yet again, and the court reimposed the previously suspended five-year prison term. The trial court awarded McLeod only 92 days of jail credit, apparently the amount of time that he spent in jail from the date of his most recent arrest to the date that his suspended sentence was reimposed. In his motion for additional jail credit, McLeod claims entitlement to a total of 318 days spent in the county jail awaiting the disposition of his various probation violations, and an additional 177 days for the time that he spent in a residential drug treatment facility. The trial court concluded that the language “CTS from arrest on any future V.O.P.” amounted to a waiver of all jail credit except for the 92 days that it awarded.
“[Although a defendant can waive jail credit as a condition of a plea, the waiver must be knowing and affirmatively appear as a condition of the plea agreement.” Canada v. State, 1 So.3d 338, 339 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009) (quoting Hill v. State, 985 So.2d 1216, 1217 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008)). We, however, do not view the statement “CTS from arrest on any future V.O.P.” as conclusive evidence that McLeod knowingly and voluntarily waived jail credit to which he would otherwise be legally entitled. Davis v. State, 968 So.2d 1051, 1052 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007). Consequently, reversal is required to allow the trial court to demonstrate that McLeod knowingly and voluntarily waived any jail *933credit by providing a copy of the plea and sentencing transcript.
The issue of waiver notwithstanding, it appears that McLeod’s sentence exceeds the five-year maximum period set forth by law for the felony that he committed, and thus, constitutes an illegal sentence. See Henderson v. State, 720 So.2d 1121, 1122 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998). Even with a defendant’s agreement, a court is without jurisdiction to impose a sentence in excess of the statutory maximum. See Collins v. State, 697 So.2d 1305, 1307-08 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). If McLeod served 318 days in jail prior to his various sentencing hearings (an allegation that the State does not contest), then his five-year prison sentence allowing only 92 days of jail credit will cause him to serve, in the aggregate, more than the five-year statutory maximum.3
For these reasons, we reverse the order denying McLeod’s motion for additional jail credit and conclude that a defendant may not, as part of a plea agreement, waive jail credit, which would result in the defendant serving a term of imprisonment that exceeds the statutory maximum for the offense committed.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
TORPY and JACOBUS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Doloretine Pippins v. State, 147 So. 3d 665 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014)…ermining whether a defendant is entitled to a sentencing correction implicates competing principles. On the one hand, a defendant may waive jail credit during plea negotiations only if the waiver is knowing and voluntary. See, e.g., McLeod v. State, 58 So. 3d 931, 932-33 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011) (citing Davis v. State, 968 So. 2d 1051, 1052 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007)). Furthermore, an involuntary waiver can be a basis to set aside the plea. See Johnson v. State, 60 So. 3d 1045, 1052 (Fla.2011). However, a defendant cann…
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Brasher v. State, 160 So. 3d 107 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015)…nder Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.801. See Mathis v. State, 139 So. 3d 988 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014); Casteel v. State, 141 So. 3d 624 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014). Thereafter, appellant can revisit the legality of his sentence. See, e.g., McLeod v. State, 58 So. 3d 931 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011); Lawson v. State, 46 So. 3d 1189, 1190 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010). WARNER, TAYLOR and MAY, JJ, concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Davis v. State, 968 So. 2d 1051 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007)
- Henderson v. State, 720 So. 2d 1121 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)
- Collins v. State, 697 So. 2d 1305 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)
- Hill v. State, 985 So. 2d 1216 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008)
- Canada v. State, 1 So. 3d 338 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)