Adams v. Wainwright, 43077

Citation275 So.2d 235
Decision Date28 March 1973
Docket NumberNo. 43077,43077
PartiesJoey ADAMS, Petitioner, v. Louie L. WAINWRIGHT, etc., Respondent.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Florida

Page 235

275 So.2d 235
Joey ADAMS, Petitioner,
v.
Louie L. WAINWRIGHT, etc., Respondent.
No. 43077.
Supreme Court of Florida.
March 28, 1973.

Page 236

Joey Adams, in pro per.

Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., and Enoch J. Whitney, Asst. Atty. Gen., for respondent.

DEKLE, Justice.

This cause is an original proceeding in mandamus 1 wherein we issued the alternative writ and a response thereto has been filed.

The first issue for determination is whether time spent in a county jail by petitioner prior to the completion of his trial for escape from state prison counts toward his original state prison sentence. We hold that it does.

Petitioner had been transferred from the state prison at Raiford to the Jacksonville Community Correctional Center on a 'work-furlough' program there. He 'left and went home' on September 17, 1971, and was thereafter 'picked up' by Duval County officers on November 9, 1971, and charged with escape.

Our recent opinion in Law v. Wainwright, 264 So.2d 3 (Fla.1972), permitted a credit for pre-sentence time served in a strikingly similar situation. There is a factual difference between the cases. Herein, a trial judge in the Duval County Criminal Court of Record found petitioner guilty of escape and gave him a six-month county jail sentence to commence upon completion of his state prison term. This escape sentence did not mention a credit for jail time incurred pending the escape trial. 2 On the other hand, the trial judge in Law withheld adjudication on the escape charge and accordingly did not enter a sentence order. In that situation we said we were not bound by the rule enunciated in Falagan v. Wainwright, 195 So.2d 562 (Fla.1967), that if a sentence order Is issued, and the language of the sentence is clear and unequivocal, then we are not permitted to speculate and reach a different meaning. Sub judice, a sentence order Was entered and did not give any jail time credit. Such an order would appear under the Falagan Rule to be clear, so that we could not substitute our judgment to allow credit against his state prison term for the time petitioner spent in jail pending his escape trial. 3 However, upon analysis a basic distinction arises as to time served in these circumstances, and we must modify Falagan and Law accordingly.

The present case is an overriding exception to the statute (§ 921.161(1)). The existing, uncompleted prison term traveled with the escaped prisoner. The moment he was detained, that sentence by operatin of law resumed. As the expression goes, 'Everybody's got to be some place!' Resumption of an existing sentence does not abide a return to Raiford State Prison. There is no magic in the place a sentence is served. Were the prisoner captured outside Raiford's gates, his...

To continue reading

Request your trial
15 cases
  • Department of Corrections, State of Fla. v. Mattress, 96-1205
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Florida (US)
    • 10 Enero 1997
    ...channels and, if necessary, by filing a petition for writ of mandamus naming DOC as the respondent. See Adams v. Wainwright, 275 So.2d 235 (Fla.1973); Smith v. State, 682 So.2d 147 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); Posey v. Kaplan, 660 So.2d 781 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). The reason for this is that an award ......
  • Brumit v. Wainwright, 44202
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Florida
    • 28 Noviembre 1973
    ...order stating what credit is to be given; and (3) our decisions in Law v. Wainwright, 264 So.2d 3 (Fla.1972), and Adams v. Wainwright, 275 So.2d 235 (Fla.1973), are not controlling here, because those cases dealt with escaped prisoners, whereas the petitioner was out on parole when convicte......
  • Steele v. Wainwright, AJ-390
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Florida (US)
    • 16 Julio 1982
    ...reasons, resumes upon the prisoner's subsequent incarceration. See, Brumit v. Wainwright, 290 So.2d 39 (Fla.1974); Adams v. Wainwright, 275 So.2d 235 (Fla.1973); and Law v. Wainwright, 264 So.2d 3 (Fla.1972). Section 921.161(1), Fla.Stat. (1981), requires the trial judge to allow credit for......
  • State v. Francis, 4-86-2192
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Florida (US)
    • 8 Abril 1987
    ...all the time he spent in the county jail before sentence, such credit should not apply against the escape sentence. Adams v. Wainwright, 275 So.2d 235 (Fla.1973); Barger v. State, 310 So.2d 764 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975); Hagans v. State, 395 So.2d 308 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981); and Danforth v. State, 31......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT