RANDY TURNER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the trial court erred in removing special counsel appointed for an indigent defendant on appeal, as the conflict of interest persisted and the county lacked standing to intervene.
[1] A county lacks standing to intervene in proceedings concerning the appointment of appellate counsel for an indigent defendant.
[2] An appeal is considered a continuation of the original proceedings, meaning a conflict of interest that necessitated withdrawal of counsel in the trial court may persist…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAn indigent defendant's special counsel was appointed for appeal after the Public Defender withdrew due to a conflict. The trial court later removed s…
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PER CURIAM.
The appellant has filed a motion for appointment of conflict free counsel on appeal.- We treat this as a request to review the order of the lower tribunal compelling the removal of special counsel and appointing the Public Defender of the Fifteenth Circuit to represent appellant on appeal. We grant review and reverse the order. Appellant, an indigent defendant, was represented in the trial court by special counsel. The Public Defender of the Fifteenth Circuit had withdrawn from his representation due to a conflict of interest. After appellant’s conviction, the trial court appointed the special counsel to continue representation on appeal. However, upon motion for reconsideration by the County Commission of Palm Beach County, which was concerned with the burden of the expense of the special counsel, the trial court determined that the conflict of interest did not carry through to the appellate stage and that the court was obliged to appoint the Public Defender of the Fifteenth Circuit as appellate counsel.
First, as the trial court by a later order recognized and the county conceded, Palm Beach County had no standing to intervene in these proceedings. In re Order of Prosecution of Criminal Appeals, 561 So. 2d 1130 (Fla.1990); Escambia County v. Behr, 384 So. 2d 147 (Fla.1980). Second, the public defender in the lower tribunal withdrew from representation of appellant because of conflict of interest. The public defender has asserted that the conflict still exists, and thus the issue of conflict is not extinguished, as an appeal is merely a continuation of the original proceedings. See Aranda v. State, 205 So. 2d 667, 670 (Fla. 4th DCA 1968). Appellant is entitled to conflict free counsel to represent him on appeal. See Barclay v. Wainwright, 444 So. 2d 956 (Fla.1984).
We therefore grant the motion for review, reverse the order appointing the public defender and direct the court to appoint a special counsel to represent appellant in connection with this appeal.
GLICKSTEIN, C.J., and GUNTHER and WARNER, JJ., concur.
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Cited By
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Barnes v. State, 743 So. 2d 1105 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)…a. 4th DCA 1996); State v. Gullett, 652 So. 2d 1265 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995); State v. Tremblay, 642 So. 2d 64 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); Wall v. State, 615 So. 2d 822 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993); State v. Zenobia, 614 So. 2d 1139 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993); Turner v. State, 611 So. 2d 12 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992); State v. Diandrea, 602 So. 2d 1322 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992); State v. Allred, 602 So. 2d 1326 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992); and Dortch v. State, 588 So. 2d 342 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). We note that Sclafani, Zenobia, Diandrea, and [*1111] Allred…
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Johnson v. State, 6 So. 3d 1262 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)…l motion to withdraw.6 Substantively, his principal argument is that the statute creating the new RCC system contemplates a determi [*1265] nation by this court as to whether a true conflict exists. The PD relies on our decision in Turner v. State, 611 So. 2d 12 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992). There the PD had moved to withdraw in the trial court because of conflict, which the trial court granted and appointed special counsel. Defendant moved for the appointment of special counsel on appeal. Palm Beach County objected…
Authorities Cited
- In re Order on Prosecution of Criminal Appeals by the Tenth Judicial Circuit Public Defender, 561 So. 2d 1130 (Fla. 1990)
- Elwood C. Barclay v. Louie L, 444 So. 2d 956 (Fla. 1984)
- Escambia Cnty. v. Behr, 384 So. 2d 147 (Fla. 1980)
- Aranda v. State, 205 So. 2d 667 (Fla. 4th DCA 1968)