SAMUEL C. STEPHENS, PETITIONER,
v.
NATHAN MAYO, AS PRISON CUSTODIAN OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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.
Samuel Stephens was convicted of unlawfully deserting and withholding support from his eight minor children under Florida law, and sentenced to one year on each of two counts to run consecutively. The Florida Supreme Court, applying the controlling precedent of Deal v. Mayo, held that a one-year maximum sentence applied and ordered his discharge by habeas corpus since he had already served that period.
Petitioner is unlawfully detained and entitled to discharge because the statutory maximum penalty for the offense charged is one year, and he has already served that period. The court found the precedent in Deal v. Mayo controlling and dispositive of the case.
“He contends that one year is the limit that a sentence may be imposed on him under said statute, that he has already served one year, and that he is entitled to be discharged.”
States petitioner's primary argument regarding the statutory maximum penalty and his claim to discharge.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePetitioner was convicted on two counts: first, for unlawfully deserting eight minor children on September 1, 1953; and second, for unlawfully withhold…
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 Statutory Sentencing Limits cases and more on FLexlaw
TERRELL, Acting Chief Justice.
Petitioner was tried and convicted on an information pursuant to F.S. § 856.04, F.S.A., charging in the first count that he did on the 1st day of September, 1953 unlawfully desert his eight minor children, to-wit: Sammie Stephens, Mary Lou Stephens, Wendell Stephens, Maxie Stephens, Lucretia Stephens, Robert Stephens, Zell Stephens and James David Stephens. Second Count charges that petitioner did from the 1st day of September 1953 to the 20th day of December 1953, in Hamilton County, Florida, unlawfully withhold the means of support from his said eight minor children. He was sentenced to serve one year in the State penitentiary on each count, the sentences to run consecutively.
By habeas corpus in this Court, petitioner challenges the validity of his sentence. He contends that one year is the limit that a sentence may be imposed on him under said statute, that he has already served one year, and that he is entitled to be discharged.
A similar question was before this Court and was adjudicated in Deal v. Mayo, 76 So. 2d 275. It is admitted by respondent that the decision in the Deal case controls this case. We have examined the record and find this to be correct.
It is accordingly our view that petitioner is unlawfully detained and that he is entitled to be and is hereby discharged on authority of the last cited case.
It is so ordered.
MATHEWS, DREW and BUFORD, JJ., concur.