BARRY ALLEN GUY, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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Barry Allen Guy petitioned for a writ of certiorari challenging the trial court's denial of partial indigency status based on his mother's retention of private counsel. The Florida District Court of Appeal held that indigency determinations must be based solely on the defendant's own financial status, regardless of whether family members have hired counsel, and therefore the trial court's order constituted a departure from the essential requirements of law.
A finding of indigency must be based solely on the defendant's own financial status. The fact that friends or family members retain private counsel to represent a defendant does not deprive the defendant of the right to be declared partially indigent so that discovery costs may be taxed against the county. The trial court should rule on the motion based on the defendant's own financial ability to pay.
[1] A finding of indigency for the purpose of obtaining discovery costs is based solely on the defendant's financial status.
[2] The retention of private counsel by friends or family members does not disqualify a defendant from being declared indigent for the purpose of taxing costs against the cou…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A finding of indigency is based upon only the defendant's financial status. The fact that friends or family members retain private counsel to represent a defendant does not deprive him of his right to be declared indigent in order that costs may be taxed against the county under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220(K).”
Establishes the core holding that indigency determinations depend solely on the defendant's own finances, not on third-party funding of counsel
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePetitioner Barry Allen Guy filed a motion to be declared partially indigent for purposes of obtaining discovery costs. The trial court denied this mot…
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OTT, Acting Chief Judge.
The court below refused to adjudge petitioner partially indigent for the purpose of obtaining discovery costs because petitioner’s mother has retained private counsel to represent petitioner. Petitioner has filed separate petitions for writ of prohibition and certiorari challenging the trial court’s order, and they were consolidated for consideration. We grant the petition for writ of certiorari and quash the order of the trial court, because the order constitutes a departure from the essential requirements of law. The petition for writ of prohibition is denied because it seeks an improper remedy.
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.111(b)(4) states:
(4) “Indigent” as used herein shall mean a person who is unable to pay for the services of an attorney, including costs of investigation, without substan tial hardship to himself or his family; “partially indigent” as used herein shall mean a person unable to pay more than a portion of the fee charged by an attorney, including costs of investigation, without substantial hardship to himself or his family.
A finding of indigency is based upon only the defendant’s financial status. The fact that friends or family members retain private counsel to represent a defendant does not deprive him of his right to be declared indigent in order that costs may be taxed against the county under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220(K). See Price v. Mounts, 421 So. 2d 690 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982), and Johnson v. Snyder, 417 So. 2d 783 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982).
The trial court should rule on petitioner’s motion to be declared partially indigent based upon his own financial ability to pay.
Petition for writ of certiorari GRANTED.
DANAHY and LEHAN, JJ., concur.
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Vera v. State, 689 So. 2d 389 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997)…bond in this and another case. The court also considered that Vera had received financial assistance from a Mend who had posted his bond. However, the trial court should only have considered Vera’s financial ability to [*391] pay. See Guy v. State, 473 So. 2d 234 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). Further, a defendant may not be presumed to have waived the right to assistance of counsel absent a Faretta1 inquiry to determine whether the waiver was knowing and intelligent. State v. Young, 626 So. 2d 655 (Fla.1993). “Florid…
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Thompson v. State, 525 So. 2d 1011 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)…as not, as urged, required to accept the services of the public defender in order to obtain such reasonable costs of discovery. Moreover, the fact that his family had retained private counsel to represent him cannot change this result. Guy v. State, 473 So. 2d 234 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985); Price v. Mounts, 421 So. 2d 690 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Johnson v. Snyder, 417 So. 2d 783 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); Saintil v. Snyder, 417 So. 2d 784 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). Second, “section 27.51, Florida Statutes [1985], although it permi…
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LEE v. State of Fla. & Palm Beach Cnty., 785 So. 2d 603 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)…ee §§ 914.11, 939.15 Fla.Stat. (1997); Fla. R.Crim.Pro. 3.220(o). See also Price v. Mounts, 421 So. 2d 690 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Saintil v. Snyder, 417 So. 2d 784 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); Johnson v. Snyder, 417 So. 2d 783 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); Guy v. State, 473 So. 2d 234 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)(holding that the county is required to pay the reasonable costs of defending an indigent defendant represented by a private attorney). Appellant was convicted of first degree murder with a firearm. On March 16, 1999, appellant fi…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Johnson v. The Honorable Arthur I. Snyder, 417 So. 2d 783 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982)
- Price v. The Honorable Marvin U. Mounts, Jr., 421 So. 2d 690 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)