HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, PETITIONER,
v.
NICK J. SINARDI, RESPONDENT
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A fee award to appointed counsel is properly challenged by petition for certiorari, not appeal, and the trial court erred in disregarding the administrative order setting hourly rates.
An attorney sought a fee exceeding the statutory amount for representing a defendant in a capital felony case. The trial court granted a higher fee ba…
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FRANK, Judge.
Hillsborough County has appealed from an order of the circuit court granting Nick J. Sinardi $5,500 for his services as a court-appointed attorney. A fee award to appointed counsel is properly challenged by petition for certiorari rather than by appeal. Schommer v. Bentley, 489 So. 2d 40 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986). Accordingly, we treat this appeal as a petition for certiorari and grant the petition.
At the conclusion of his representation of Anthony J. Harris, Jr., in a capital felony case attorney Sinardi moved for a fee in excess of the $3,500 amount set by section 925.036(2)(d) Florida Statutes (1987), for representation of a defendant convicted of a capital crime.
The trial court agreed with Sinardi’s contention that his extraordinary and unusual service justified a fee in excess of the statutory amount. See Makemson v. Martin County, 491 So. 2d 1109 (Fla.1986), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 107 S.Ct. 908, 93 L.Ed.2d 857 (1987). Although this finding was proper, the court erred in disregarding the administrative order of the chief judge of the thirteenth judicial circuit, in effect at the time of Sinardi’s representation of Harris, that special public defenders are to be compensated at the rate of forty dollars per hour.
Accordingly, we grant the petition for certiorari and remand this case with directions to calculate Sinardi’s fee based on the hourly rate established in the schedule adopted by the chief judge of the thirteenth judicial circuit. See Hillsborough County v. Marchese, 519 So. 2d 728 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988); Board of County Commissioners of Hillsborough County v. Lopez, 518 So. 2d 372 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988).
CAMPBELL, A.C.J., and PARKER, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Leon Cnty. v. The Honorable Charles D. McCLURE, 541 So. 2d 630 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)…nt to counsel's efforts and the court's fee award, an administrative order relating to fees for appointed counsel became effective in the circuit. Such orders have been deemed controlling in other instances. See e.g., Hillsborough County v. Sinardi, 524 So. 2d 483 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988); Metropolitan Dade County v. Gold, 509 So. 2d 407 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). Since the order was not effective in the present case, on remand it should not be binding although the court may consider it as a guide.…
Authorities Cited
- Makemson v. Martin Cnty., 491 So. 2d 1109 (Fla. 1986)
- Bd. OF Cnty. Comm'rs OF Hillsborough Cnty. v. Lopez, 518 So. 2d 372 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)
- Hillsborough Cnty. v. Marchese, 519 So. 2d 728 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988)
- Nicholas G. Schommer and James v. Lobozzo, Jr., 489 So. 2d 40 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)