ROBERT A. MATTHEWS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The trial court erred by failing to properly inquire and advise the defendant regarding his right to representation and the consequences of discharging his appointed counsel.
[1] When a defendant requests the discharge of court-appointed counsel, the trial court must first determine if adequate grounds exist for replacement.
[2] If a defendant has no legitimate complaint regarding counsel, the court must advise the defendant that discharging counsel may result in self-representation.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe defendant requested new appointed counsel multiple times, citing inadequate representation. The trial court denied these requests, finding the att…
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SCHOONOVER, Chief Judge.
The appellant, Robert A. Matthews, challenges the judgment and sentence imposed upon him after he was found guilty of robbery. We reverse.
Prior to the appellant’s trial on the charge of robbery, his court appointed attorney, at the appellant’s request, filed a motion to withdraw as the appellant’s attorney. The appellant requested that a new attorney be appointed because he disagreed with the attorney’s decision to file a written plea of not guilty rather than have the appellant appear for a formal arraignment. The trial court found that the attorney was adequately representing the appellant and denied the motion. The court also found, without making an inquiry on the record, that the appellant was not able to represent himself in a jury trial.
On the day of trial, before the jury was empaneled, the appellant again requested that a new attorney be appointed to represent him. In response to questions by the court, the appellant stated that the attorney was not adequately representing him and that she failed to visit him at the jail or communicate with him. The court found that the appellant’s attorney was adequately representing him and denied the appellant’s request for a new attorney.
The court noted, as it had at the hearing on the attorney’s motion to withdraw, that the appellant had established a pattern of discharging counsel and had done so in many previous cases. As a result of the appellant’s disruptive behavior in response to the trial court’s refusal to appoint a new attorney, the trial court ordered the appellant to be tried in absentia.
The jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged. The appellant filed a timely notice of appeal from the judgment and sentence imposed upon him pursuant to that verdict.
The appellant contends that the trial court erred by failing to make the proper inquiries and to give him the proper advice concerning his right of representation. On the basis of the record presented to us, we must agree.1
When a defendant requests the trial court' to discharge his court appointed attorney and replace him with another appointed attorney, the court should first determine whether adequate grounds exist for replacement of the defendant’s attorney. Nelson v. State, 274 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973).
See also Hardwick v. State, 521 So. 2d 1071 (Fla.1988), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 871, 109 S.Ct. 185, 102 L.Ed.2d 154 (1988).
If the court finds that the defendant, as in this case, has no legitimate complaint, it is then required to advise the defendant that if his request to discharge his attorney is granted, the court is not required to appoint substitute counsel and the defendant would be exercising his right to represent himself. Hardwick; Taylor v. State, 557 So. 2d 138 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990).
At this point, if the defendant still desires to discharge his counsel, the court must determine whether the defendant is knowingly and intelligently waiving his right to court appointed counsel. Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975); Hardwick. The court should determine whether the defendant by reason of his age, mental derangement, lack of knowledge, lack of experience, or inexperience in criminal proceedings would be deprived of a fair trial if permitted to conduct his own defense. Williams v. State, 427 So. 2d 768 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.111(d).
This determination is particularly important where, as here, the defendant’s actual desire is to obtain different court appointed counsel which is not his constitutional right. Hardwick; Donald v. State, 166 So. 2d 453 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964).
As mentioned above, the trial court in this case properly considered whether adequate grounds existed for removing the appellant’s court appointed counsel. Once this determination was made, however, the court erred by not proceeding to inform the appellant that if the attorney was discharged he would be requesting to represent himself and then, if necessary, to make the proper inquiry to determine if he would be deprived of a fair trial if allowed to do so. We must, accordingly, reverse and remand for a new trial.
Reversed and remanded.
THREADGILL and PARKER, JJ., concur. . Although the trial court evidently had knowledge concerning the appellant that is not part of this record, we must rule on the record presented to us. The record does not contain evidence which was apparently presented in other cases involving the appellant. The court’s statement that it was taking judicial notice of certain files does not, by itself, make those files, or the evidence contained therein, part of the record on appeal.
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Augsberger v. State, 655 So. 2d 1202 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)…rney.” Appellant then proceeded to trial and was convicted. He was ultimately sentenced as a habitual felony offender for the offenses of aggravated battery and retaliating against a witness. Appellant claims that our decision in Matthews v. State, 584 So. 2d 1105 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991), requires us to reverse and remand for a new trial. He argues that, just as in Matthews, the trial court erred in failing to make an adequate inquiry regarding his request that court-appointed counsel be discharged and in neglecti…
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Bowen v. State, 677 So. 2d 863 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)…rida Supreme Court, and other district courts of appeal. See McKaskle v. Wiggins, 465 U.S. 168, 104 S.Ct. 944, 79 L.Ed.2d 122 (1984); Johnston v. State, 497 So. 2d 863 (Fla.1986); Jones v. State, 658 So. 2d 122 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995); Matthews v. State, 584 So. 2d 1105 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991); Smith v. State, 512 So. 2d 291 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Daniels v. State, 449 So. 2d 950 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984); Smith v. State, 444 So. 2d 542 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Morgano v. State, 439 So. 2d 924 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); Williams v. State,…1 / 3
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Odell Rutledge v. State, 1 So. 3d 1122 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)…74-75; Rios v. State, 696 So. 2d 469, 471 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997); Taylor v. State, 557 So. 2d 138, 143 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990), disapproved of on other grounds, Heuss v. State, 687 So. 2d 823, 824 (Fla.1996); Nelson, 274 So. 2d at 259. In Matthews v. State, 584 So. 2d 1105, 1106-07 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991), the appellate court set this procedure out as a requirement: If the court finds that the defendant, as in this ease, has no legitimate complaint, it is then required to advise the defendant that if his request to discha…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 (U.S. 1975)
- Nelson v. State, 274 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973)
- Thompson v. Louisiana, 488 U.S. 871 (U.S. 1988)
- Hardwick v. State, 521 So. 2d 1071 (Fla. 1988)
- Williams v. State, 427 So. 2d 768 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983)
- First OF Ga. Ins. Co. v. Lloyd, 557 So. 2d 138 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
- Donald v. State, 166 So. 2d 453 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964)
- Fischer v. Jefferson Ins. Co., 166 So. 2d 453 (Fla. 3d DCA 1964)