KENNETH WHITFIELD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Kenneth Whitfield appealed the denial of his habeas corpus petition challenging his 30-year habitual violent felony offender sentence imposed in 1998. The court affirmed the denial, explaining that a later 15-year sentence designated as coterminous with the 30-year sentence did not modify or shorten the original 30-year sentence.
The trial court correctly denied the habeas corpus petition because the coterminous designation of the 15-year sentence did not modify the 30-year HVFO sentence. The designation was legally incongruous and ineffectual, as a shorter sentence cannot properly run coterminous with a longer sentence, and the trial court lacked jurisdiction to modify the 1998 sentence when sentencing in the 2000 case.
[1] A trial court cannot order a shorter sentence to run coterminous with a longer sentence, as the shorter sentence will necessarily end first.
[2] Designating a sentence as coterminous with a longer, prior sentence does not modify or shorten the longer sentence.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a coterminous sentence is a sentencing decision in which a court exercises its discretion to mitigate a defendant's sentence by ordering it to end simultaneously with another shorter sentence”
Defines the legal purpose and proper use of coterminous sentencing
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWhitfield was sentenced on February 20, 1998, to 30 years as a habitual violent felony offender for robbery. In an unrelated case on December 11, 2000…
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Kenneth Whitfield appeals from the denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus, in which he challenges his current detention on a February 20, 1998, 30-year habitual violent felony offender (“HVFO”) sentence, imposed on a robbery charge.1 The trial court correctly denied the petition, and we affirm.
Whitfield seems to be confused by the fact that the trial court later imposed a 15-year sentence for a firearm charge in an unrelated case,2 and ordered that sentence to be served “concurrent and coterminous3” with other charges from that case, as well as sentences imposed in other cases — including the 30-year HVFO sentence. Whitfield’s confusion is perhaps understandable, as the later 15-year sentence clearly should not have been imposed as coterminous with the longer 30-year sentence. See Moore v. Pearson, 789 So.2d 316, 319 (Fla.2001) (explaining that “a coterminous sentence is a sentencing decision in which a court exercises its discretion to mitigate a defendant’s sentence” by ordering it to end simultaneously with another shorter sentence); Jefferson v. Florida Parole Com’n, 982 So.2d 743, 745 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2008) (explaining that it would be “incongruous” to designate a shorter sentence as coterminous with a longer sentence). As recognized by the Jefferson court, it makes no sense to order a shorter sentence to run coterminous with a longer sentence because the shorter sentence will in fact end first irrespective of the designation — which means that' the two sentences will not end simultaneously.
Whitfield may also be suffering under the misimpression that by designating the 15-year sentence as coterminous with the earlier 30-year HVFO sentence, the trial court somehow modified and shortened the 30-year sentence. However, the trial court clearly did not purport or attempt to modify the HVFO sentence when sentencing in the later, unrelated case. Additionally, according to Whitfield’s habe-as petition, the coterminous 15-year sentence was imposed on December 11, 2000, well after the trial court would have lost jurisdiction to modify the 30-year HVFO sentence imposed in 1998. See, e.g., Colvin v. State, 63 So.3d 889 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011).
AFFIRMED.
. SAWAYA, LAWSON and COHEN, JJ., concur.
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Chaparro v. Sec'y, Dep't of Corr. (M.D. Fla. 2025)…ently, a trial court is permitting a defendant to serve multiple sentences at the same time."). But if the sentences were coterminous, they would “terminate simultaneously,” and Mr. Chaparro would serve only five years in prison. Whitfield v. State, 95 So. 3d 964, 965 n.3 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012); see also 16 Fla. Prac., Sentencing § 1:82 (2025-2026 ed.) (“When a sentencing court orders that one sentence is to run coterminous with another sentence, the net effect is that the two sentences will end on the soonest…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Moore v. Pearson, 789 So. 2d 316 (Fla. 2001)
- Madden v. State, 535 So. 2d 636 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988)
- Jefferson v. Fla. Parole Comm'n, 982 So. 2d 743 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008)
- Colvin v. State, 63 So. 3d 889 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011)