Court Opinion

ID: 9723674
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 10:26:28.084618+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:50.790176
License: Public Domain

Mr. JUSTICE SMITH concurring in part and dissenting in part: I concur in the majority opinion affirming the conviction in this case, but must respectfully dissent from the order vacating the sentence and remanding the cause and the reasons assigned for reaching that result. The record shows a pronouncement by the court in these words: “We will show the sentence of the court to be that the defendant, Frank James Dandridge, is sentenced for an indeterminate term of not less than two years, four years is fixed as a minimum duration of imprisonment, and eight years is the maximum duration of imprisonment, and the sentence is ordered to be consecutive to the sentence heretofore imposed and under which the defendant still stands in Cause No. 65 — CR—1865 out of this court and the defendant is ordered to pay the cost of prosecution”. The language of this order and the mittimus leaves no room for the assertion that there is any ambiguity, uncertainty, doubt or misapprehension within its four comers that a consecutive sentence is ordered. Standing alone the intention to impose a consecutive sentence is “clearly manifest”. The sole and single issue in this case then is not whether the judgment order is adequate but whether this is the judgment order the court intended to enter. If so, the judgment should be affirmed. If not, the order vacating the judgment is proper. We turn to the record to determine the question of intention. There was a discussion between court and counsel in the presence of the defendant about the propriety of a consecutive sentence. The court demonstrated a clear understanding that the areas are rather limited where a consecutive sentence can be imposed and pointed out that there was considerable several years time spread between the events upon which the first sentence was imposed in 1965 and the events out of which this sentence arose. The occurrence events were wholly separated. The court then stated: “I also have some dim recollection now under this new setup with the Department of Corrections if they are going to do the deciding for us. I know that they do * s *. Well, be that as it may, but I want to make this as complete as possible in order that there is no loose ends hanging here”. The sentence above quoted was then stated by the judge in open court and the mittimus issued was in strict conformity with that pronouncement. The majority concludes from these events that the intention of the judge is clouded. This is, I believe, a strained interpretation of this record. When the court said “be that as it may, he didn’t want to leave any loose ends hanging” strikes me as a positive assertion by him that irrespective of what the Parole Board might do with the sentence, his order was a consecutive sentence and he correctly and adequately expressed it in the order itself. I see no occasion, therefore, for vacating the sentence or remanding the case for the trial judge to reassert an intention which seems to me to be already clearly evident in this record. The discussion of the sentencing standards adopted by the American Bar Association and pointing out how the same penitentiary term time could have been accomplished by the trial judge without the use of consecutive sentences has no bearing upon the issue of the trial court’s intent. I do not agree with the assertion that consecutive sentences unnecessarily create difficulties exemplified by this record nor do I agree that consecutive sentences in proper cases per se create institutional and administrative difficulties. Under our statute and under our decisions the trial court has a discretion. In my judgment on this record he properly exercised that discretion. I have no quarrel with the ABA standards when applied in appropriate cases as a guideline but not as a corset-like stricture on the discretion permitted the trial judge in the imposition of sentence under our decisions and our statute. They have no bearing on the narrow issue now before us as to whether or not the trial judge intended to impose a consecutive sentence. The sole issue here is intention and not the sentence he should impose. The issue is did the trial court judge do what he intended to do. In my judgment this record shows that the trial judge did do what he intended to do and properly did it. I go beyond the issue which is properly before us in approving this sentence only because obliquely and not directly my colleagues are not happy with the consecutive sentence. On this record I doubt that they are willing to find it an abuse of discretion. I see no reason to remand this case to the trial court to establish that which the sentencing order and the record already establish. I would therefore affirm in toto.