Flashcards Studio

Accused Adrian Cruz is convicted by final judgment of two offenses arising from distinct incidents: (1) Kidnapping and serious illegal detention, punishable by 12 years; (2) Qualified theft of a motor vehicle, punishable by 8 years. The court imposes sentences of 12 years for kidnapping and 8 years for theft. There are no other penalties or aggravating/mitigating circumstances. (a)Identify the governing doctrine on how sentences for multiple convictions should be served (successive/consecutive versus concurrent) and briefly distinguish the two modes. (b)Based on the doctrine identified, determine whether Cruz's sentences should be served successively or concurrently, and compute the total time to be served, assuming no absorption or other statutory exceptions.