State v. Coles

The principal issue on appeal is whether a felony sentence imposed against the appellant, Joseph C. Coles, must be deemed a concurrent sentence as a matter of law. Coles contends that the challenged sentence must be concurrent because the trial court did not expressly state that the sentence was consecutive to a "time served" misdemeanor sentence which the trial court had imposed moments earlier at the same sentencing hearing.

In a postconviction ruling, the trial court rejected Coles's argument. Instead, the court ruled that, despite its failure to expressly label the challenged sentence as…