Pittmanv.State
Matthew Douglas Pittman was convicted of misdemeanor traffic offenses, simple assault, and DUI, and initially received 180 days in a probation detention center (PDC) followed by probation. After he began serving the sentence, probation advised that he was ineligible for PDC placement because he had no felony conviction; the trial court replaced the PDC term with 170 days in county jail by emailed order. The Court of Appeals held the original sentence void and ruled that the court could impose lawful jail time even after Pittman began serving it, because a void sentence creates no legitimate expectation of finality and the correction did not violate double jeopardy. But resentencing is a critical stage at which a defendant has a right to be present, and the court could not amend the sentence by email after the hearing. The court vacated the modified sentence and remanded for the trial court to reimpose it in open court with Pittman present.
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