TOMMY LEE MILES, 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.
Tommy Lee Miles appealed his 20-year sentence for manslaughter, arguing that the trial court erred by denying him credit for pretrial jail time, which he claimed exceeded the statutory maximum for manslaughter. The Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed the sentence, holding that credit for pretrial jail time is discretionary, not a matter of right, and does not constitute part of the sentence imposed.
The court held that credit for pretrial jail time is discretionary and not a matter of right. A sentence of imprisonment cannot begin running prior to the date it is imposed, and pretrial jail time is not part of that sentence unless expressly credited by the trial judge.
“No court, officer, or agency shall have any authority to cause a sentence to imprisonment to begin running at any time prior to the date it is imposed.”
Establishes that imprisonment begins upon sentencing, not before, making pretrial jail time separate from the sentence
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMiles was charged with second degree murder. On the day of trial, he appeared with counsel and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The trial judge sentenc…
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 Sentencing Discretion cases and more on FLexlaw
Defendant is appealing a judgment and sentence entered upon his plea of guilty to the charge of manslaughter. The defendant was charged with second degree murder. On the day of trial, defendant appeared with counsel and plead guilty to the crime of manslaughter. The trial judge, after an investigation of defendant’s background and of the facts of the case, sentenced defendant to twenty years imprisonment. Furthermore, the judge stated that defendant would not receive credit for time served in jail prior to entry of judgment and sentence. Under § 782.07, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., the maximum term of detention that can be imposed for the crime of manslaughter is twenty years. The defendant contends that this maximum was erroneously exceeded due to the trial court’s • failure to credit him for time spent in jail prior to entry of judgment and sentence.
Florida Statute § 921.161(1), F.S.A. provides :
“No court, officer, or agency shall have any authority to cause a sentence to imprisonment to begin running at any time prior to the date it is imposed. However, a judge imposing such a sentence may allow the defendant credit thereon for all or any part of the time spent by him in the county jail prior to sentence, provided that any such allowance must be for a specified length of time and it may be provided for in the sentence or by order thereafter made during the same *102term of court at which the sentence is imposed.”
A reading of the above quoted statute discloses that the decision concerning credit for jail time is one of judicial discretion and the defendant is not entitled, as a matter of right, to credit for such time. See 24B C.J.S. Criminal Law § 1995(5). The statute further discloses that the sentence of imprisonment cannot “begin running at any time prior to the date it is imposed.” Therefore, defendant’s term of imprisonment begins upon sentencing and time spent by defendant in jail prior to sentencing is not a part of that sentence unless credit is expressly given by the trial judge.
The defendant’s other contention has been considered and found to be without merit.
The judgment and sentence are affirmed.
LILES, C. J., and ALLEN and HOB-SON, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
O'Malley v. Louie L. Wainwright, 237 So. 2d 813 (Fla. 2d DCA 1970)…titioner contends that he has not been given credit for time spent in jail awaiting various hearings, Court trials, and sentencing, amounting in all to 402 days, according to his computation. This 2nd District Court, in Miles v. State, Fla.App.1968, 214 So. 2d 101, held that “defendant’s term of imprisonment begins upon sentencing and time spent by defendant in jail prior to sentencing is not a part of that sentence unless credit is expressly given by the trial judge”. No such credit was given in the instant…
-
Albury v. State, 246 So. 2d 141 (Fla. 2d DCA 1971)…MANN, Judge (dissenting). Miles v. State, Fla.App.1968, 214 So. 2d 101, is precisely in point, holding that an indigent appellant is not entitled to credit for time spent in jail awaiting trial although he was given the maximum sentence allowed for the offense. That decision was based simply on Fla.Stat. § 921.-161(1)…1 / 2
-
Miller v. State, 270 So. 2d 774 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)…e, Fla.App.1971, 243 So. 2d 598, where the court said: “This statute makes it clear that the granting of credit for jail time served prior to sentencing is a matter within the discretion of the trial judge.” Likewise in Miles v. State, Fla.App.1968, 214 So. 2d 101, it was held that a defendant was not entitled, as a matter of right, to credit for pre-sentence jail time. The appellant has failed to demonstrate an abuse of discretion by the trial court in this regard, and upon review of the record we observe n…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence