BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY FLORIDA, PETITIONER,
v.
CLIFTON C. CURRY, JR., ESQUIRE, RESPONDENT
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court denied the county's petition for certiorari challenging an attorney's fee award exceeding statutory limits, holding that courts possess inherent power to award fees above the statutory cap in non-capital cases to ensure adequate representation for indigent defendants.
Courts possess inherent power to award attorney's fees exceeding statutory limits for court-appointed counsel in criminal cases regardless of whether the case is capital or non-capital.
[1] Courts possess inherent power to award attorney's fees exceeding statutory limits for court-appointed counsel in all criminal cases, not merely capital cases, to ensure a…
Previewing 1 of 1 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“there is nothing in either decision suggesting that courts may only depart from the statutory fee guidelines for court-appointed counsel in capital cases. The basis for the results reached in White and Makemson is the judiciary's inherent power to ensure adequate representation for indigent criminal defendants by competent counsel, regardless of whether the defendant has been charged with a capital crime.”
The court rejected the county's argument that the supreme court's prior decisions should be limited to capital cases.
The county sought review of a trial court order awarding respondent attorney's fees exceeding the maximum compensation authorized by section 925.036(2…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Statutory Fee Cap cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
In this petition for writ of certiorari, the county seeks review of an order which awarded respondent an attorney’s fee in excess of the maximum compensation for court-appointed counsel authorized by section 925.036(2)(b), Florida Statutes (1987). After a thorough review of the record and an analysis of the supreme court’s decisions in White v. Board of County Commissioners of Pinellas County, 537 So. 2d 1376 (Fla.1989), and Makemson v. Martin County, 491 So. 2d 1109 (Fla.1986), we hold that the trial court’s award did not depart from the essential requirements of law.
We write only to reject the county’s argument that the supreme court’s decisions in White and Makemson should be limited to capital cases. Although the supreme court commented in White that “virtually every capital case ... justifies the court’s inherent power to award attorney’s fees in excess of the current statutory fee cap,” 537 So. 2d at 1380, there is nothing in either decision suggesting that courts may only depart from the statutory fee guidelines for court-appointed counsel in capital cases. The basis for the results reached in White and Makemson is the judiciary’s inherent power to ensure adequate representation for indigent criminal defendants by competent counsel, regardless of whether the defendant has been charged with a capital crime.
The petition for writ of certiorari is denied.
DANAHY, A.C.J., and FRANK and PARKER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Zelman v. Just. Admin. Comm'n, 78 So. 3d 105 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)…nnounced in White are equally applicable here. See Monroe Cnty. v. Garcia, 695 So. 2d 823, 825 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997) (holding the principles of Makemson and White are applicable to noncapital cases); Bd. of Cnty. Comm’rs of Hillsborough Cnty. v. Curry, 545 So. 2d 930, 931 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989) (same). Petitioner filed an hourly invoice claiming that he expended 230.4 hours to prepare and successfully argue the motion to dismiss the manslaughter charge based upon statutory immunity. At the attorney’s fee hearing, JA…
-
Monroe Cnty. v. Garcia, 695 So. 2d 823 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)…judiciary’s inherent power to ensure adequate representation for indigent criminal defendants by competent counsel, regardless of whether the defendant has been charged with a capital crime.” Board of County Comm’rs of Hillsborough County v. Curry, 545 So. 2d 930, 931 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989); Board of County Comm’rs of Hillsborough County v. Cunningham, 529 So. 2d 724 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988). Cf. State v. Bellamy, 599 So. 2d 751 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)(order awarding fees in excess of statutory limit to court-appointed at…
Authorities Cited
- Makemson v. Martin Cnty., 491 So. 2d 1109 (Fla. 1986)
- White v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs of Pinellas Cnty., 537 So. 2d 1376 (Fla. 1989)