Opinion ID: 3134725
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Compliance With the Federal Court Mandate

Text: We begin by addressing defendant’s claim that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to sentence him because it failed to do so within the time period required by the federal courts. The federal district court mandate provided: “Emerson’s petition for habeas corpus is granted with respect to this sentence of death and denied in all other respects. The state is ordered to resentence petitioner pursuant to the dictates of the Sixth Amendment within 120 days of the date of this order.” The order was dated March 30, 1995. On July 30, 1996, the federal appellate court affirmed the federal district court. Emerson V , 91 F.3d at 907. On October 4, 1996, the federal district court issued an order that provided, “The 120-day period for Emerson’s resentencing shall run from the date on which the supreme court disposes of Emerson’s petition for certiorari .” The United States Supreme Court denied defendant’s petition for a writ of certiorari on March 17, 1997. Emerson v. Gilmore , 520 U.S. 1122, 137 L. Ed. 2d 339, 117 S. Ct. 1260 (1997). At a June 26, 1997, status conference, counsel for defendant informed the circuit court of the time limit provided in the federal district court’s order. Defense counsel indicated his agreement to begin the sentencing proceedings on July 14, 1997, the day before the expiration of the 120-day period. The circuit court, therefore, set the case for sentencing on July 14 “[b]y agreement.” On July 14, the jury for the sentencing proceedings was selected. Testimony in the eligibility phase began the next day. On July 16, the jury found defendant eligible for the death penalty. The jury returned its verdict in the aggravation-mitigation phase on July 18, 1997. The circuit court’s judgment and execution order was dated August 19, 1997. According to defendant, the 120-day time limit set by the federal courts expired on July 15, 1997, and the circuit court did not have jurisdiction to sentence him after this date. Defendant concludes that, because he was sentenced on August 19, 1997, his sentence is null and void. He, therefore, asks us to vacate his death sentence and remand the cause for imposition of a sentence other than death. The State responds that defendant’s sentence is valid because the sentencing proceedings commenced within the 120-day period. Alternatively, the State asks us to reject defendant’s argument because, inter alia , (1) defense counsel agreed to a continuance until July 14, and (2) certain delays in the sentencing proceedings were attributable to defendant. We find that defendant’s restrictive interpretation of the federal district court order is unwarranted. Counsel for both sides, as well as the circuit court, were aware of the 120-day time limit contained in the federal district court order. Given the nature of capital sentencing proceedings, their agreement to begin the sentencing proceedings on July 14, 1997, indicates that the court and the attorneys, including defense counsel, believed that the federal district court’s order required commencement, but not completion, of the sentencing proceedings within the 120-day period. We conclude that this is the reasonable interpretation of the federal district court order. See also Cave v. Singletary , 84 F.3d 1350 (11th Cir. 1996) (holding that state-court sentencing proceedings were timely when, during the 90-day period mandated by the federal court order, a status conference was held at which the parties agreed on a later sentencing date). Defendant provides us with no authority to support his claim that the federal district court order required the sentencing proceedings to be completed by the expiration of the 120-day period. He relies on cases in which federal courts have found that a state court failed to comply with the time limit contained in a federal court order disposing of a defendant’s petition for writ of habeas corpus . In these cases, however, the state courts failed to even commence, much less complete, the necessary proceedings within the time period required by the federal court orders. See Latzer v. Abrams , 615 F. Supp. 1226 (E.D.N.Y. 1985) (during the 60-day period within which the federal court required the defendant to be retried pursuant to his petition for a writ of habeas corpus , the state court arraigned the defendant but failed to begin his trial); Homan v. Sigler , 283 F. Supp. 404 (D. Neb. 1968) (the state court never conducted the evidentiary hearing that the federal court required it to hold within 90 days of its order disposing of the defendant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus ). Thus, these decisions fail to support defendant’s claim that initiation of resentencing proceedings within the time period ordered by a federal court is insufficient to comply with an order such as the one in this case. In any event, even assuming that the circuit court failed to comply with the time limit contained in the federal district court order, we would reject defendant’s challenge to his sentence. Even if a state court fails to conduct new sentencing proceedings within the time period ordered by the federal court pursuant to a defendant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus , the state court may nevertheless resentence the defendant. See Smith v. Lucas , 16 F.3d 638 (5th Cir. 1994); Moore v. Zant , 972 F.2d 318 (11th Cir. 1992); see also Foster v. Lockhart , 9 F.3d 722 (8th Cir. 1993) (if the state fails to retry a defendant within the time ordered by the federal court, the state may usually nevertheless rearrest and retry the defendant). Thus, even if untimely, the circuit court’s sentencing order in this case is valid.