DANIEL LELAND KARG, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court reversed the trial court's denial of Karg's motion to withdraw his guilty plea, holding that because a conflict existed between Karg and his trial counsel regarding allegations of inadequate communication of plea offers, the trial court was required to appoint conflict-free counsel to represent Karg in the plea withdrawal proceedings.
The court held that because a conflict between appellant and his trial counsel appeared in the record, the trial court was required to appoint conflict-free counsel to represent appellant regarding his motion to withdraw his plea. The trial court also erred by failing to determine the truthfulness of the allegations that counsel failed to communicate plea offers and by failing to conduct an inquiry into the motion to discharge counsel.
[1] A trial court errs in denying a motion to withdraw a plea without first determining the truthfulness of an allegation that the defendant's attorney failed to communicate…
[2] A trial court must conduct an inquiry regarding a defendant's motion to discharge trial counsel when the defendant alleges incompetency of counsel.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“allegation of failure to communicate plea offer states colorable claim of ineffective assistance in context of motion for post-conviction relief”
Establishes that Karg's allegation against his attorney was legally sufficient to require further inquiry
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceKarg filed a motion to withdraw his plea, alleging his attorney failed to communicate plea offers to him. Karg also sought to discharge his trial coun…
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PER curiam:.
Appellee concedes that the trial court erred in denying appellant’s motion to withdraw his plea before determining the truthfulness of the allegation that his attorney failed to communicate plea offers to him. See, e.g. Seymore v. State, 693 So. 2d 647 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)(allegation-of failure to communicate plea offer states colorable claim of ineffective assistance in context of motion for post-conviction relief). Further, appellee concedes that the trial court erred in failing to conduct an inquiry regarding appellant’s motion to discharge trial counsel. See, e.g., Bowden v. State, 588 So. 2d 225 (Fla. 1991)(“[w]here a defendant seeks to discharge court-appointed counsel due to alleged incompetency of counsel it is incumbent upon the trial court to make a sufficient inquiry of the defendant and his appointed counsel to determine whether there is reasonable cause to believe that counsel is not rendering effective assistance to the defendant”).
While appellant contends the trial court must appoint conflict-free counsel to represent him in the hearing on his motion to withdraw plea, appellee asserts the trial court need not appoint counsel unless the motion to withdraw the plea is granted. We disagree with appellee. Because a conflict between appellant and his trial counsel appears in the record, the trial court must appoint conflict-free counsel to represent appellant with regard to his motion to withdraw his plea. See Brye v. State, 702 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997); Lopez v. State, 688 So. 2d 948 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997); Hope v. State, 682 So. 2d 1173 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996).
The denial of appellant’s motion to withdraw plea is REVERSED and REMANDED with directions to appoint conflict-free counsel to represent appellant in further proceedings.
JOANOS, MINER and WEBSTER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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White v. State, 731 So. 2d 74 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)…after his trial. Florida courts uniformly have held that trial counsel’s failure to communicate a plea offer to the client can constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. See, e.g., Rosav. State, 712 So. 2d 414 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998); Karg v. State, 706 So. 2d 124 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998); Gonzales v. State, 691 So. 2d 602 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997); Young v. State, 608 So. 2d 111 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992). We have found no reported Florida decision addressing counsel’s failure to convey the client’s acceptance of a plea offer…
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Smith v. State, 845 So. 2d 937 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003)…o say, when a conflict between a defendant and his counsel appears in the record, the trial court is obligated to appoint conflict-free counsel to represent the defendant. See Jones v. State, 827 So. 2d 1086, 1087 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002); Karg v. State, 706 So. 2d 124, 125 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998). Here, the comments of trial counsel were patently in conflict with the position of his client. The comments suggest that counsel believed he fully advised Smith of the consequences of the plea, and perhaps he did. Nonethel…
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Carmona v. State, 873 So. 2d 348 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004)…appointed counsel. This argument is without merit. This court has held “assistance of counsel is among those ‘constitutional rights so basic to a fair trial the infraction can never be treated as harmless error’.” Jones at 1087. In Karg v. State, 706 So. 2d 124 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998), the defendant sought to with [*352] draw his plea because he claimed his attorney failed to communicate plea offers to him. Based on that alone, the court held that a conflict between the defendant and his trial counsel appeared…1 / 2
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
- Bowden v. State, 588 So. 2d 225 (Fla. 1991)
- Hope v. State, 682 So. 2d 1173 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)
- Lopez v. State, 688 So. 2d 948 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997)
- Durwyn J. Seymore v. State, 693 So. 2d 647 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)
- Sher v. Sher, 702 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)
- Brye v. State, 702 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)