A.D., A CHILD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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A juvenile appellant challenges his commitment order after pleading guilty and no contest to multiple delinquency charges. The court reversed and remanded because the appellant's constitutional right to counsel was violated when a certified legal intern, rather than a licensed attorney, represented him at the disposition hearing without a supervising attorney present.
A.D.'s constitutional right to counsel was violated at the disposition hearing. The dispositional order must be quashed and reversed because a juvenile has a fundamental constitutional right to assistance of counsel at critical stages of delinquency proceedings, and the record contains no evidence of a valid waiver or supervising attorney presence.
[1] A criminal defendant is entitled to court-appointed counsel unless the right is knowingly and intelligently waived.
[2] Representation by a legal intern not admitted to the bar, without the defendant's knowledge or consent, may constitute grounds for relief from a conviction.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A juvenile has a constitutional right to assistance of counsel at the critical stages of delinquency proceedings, and the denial of that right is fundamental error.”
Establishes the foundational constitutional principle governing the case
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA.D. was charged with culpable negligence, grand theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing police, and cocaine possession. He pled guilty or nolo contendere t…
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W. SHARP, Judge.
A.D. appeals from orders of commitment after he pled guilty and nolo con-tendere in three cases.1 He was adjudicated delinquent and the court committed him to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice, at a restrictiveness level six consistent with the recommendations of the Department. After violating several conditions of community control, A.D. was re-arrested and pled no contest to the violation. At the disposition hearing, the court committed him to restrictiveness level eight, in excess of the Department’s recommendations. We reverse and remand for further proceedings because A.D.’s constitutional right to counsel was violated at the disposition hearing.
A juvenile has a constitutional right to assistance of counsel at the critical stages of delinquency proceedings, and the denial of that right is fundamental error. J.R.V. v. State, 715 So. 2d 1135 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998). In this case, A.D. had the assistance of the public defender, Barry Hepner, at the plea hearing and at that hearing A.D. executed a plea agreement. However, at the dispositional hearing on August 3, 1998, he was represented by Mercedes Leon-Durham, a certified legal intern. The record is silent concerning A.D.’s knowing or intelligent waiver of his right to legal representation and there is no showing or assertion that a supervising attorney was present at the disposition hearing. Compare S.B. v. State, 670 So. 2d 1076 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996).
Accordingly, we have no alternative but to quash the dispositional order and remand for further proceedings. U.S. Const. Amend. VI and XIV; Art. 1 § 9 and 19(a), Fla. Const.; §§ 985.203(1) and 985.23(l)(a), (b), (c), and (d); Fla. Bar. R. ll-1.2(b)(e). See L.R. v. State, 698 So. 2d 915 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997); In the Interest of J.H., 580 So. 2d 162 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991), approved, 596 So. 2d 453 (Fla.1992). We do not apply Maddox v. State, 708 So. 2d 617 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998), rev. granted, 718 So. 2d 169 (Fla.1998) to fundamental sentencing errors committed in juvenile proceedings. T.G. v. State, 24 Fla. L. Weekly D216, 741 So. 2d 517 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999).
Dispositional Order QUASHED; REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings.
DAUKSCH and COBB, JJ., concur. . A.D. pled guilty, in case number 96-3755, to culpable negligence with personal injury, a first degree misdemeanor under § 784.05(2), after throwing a full can of soda through an open school bus window which hit another child. The state nolle pressed charges of throwing a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
A.D. pled nolo contendere, in case numbers 96-5459 and 96-6584. In case number 96-5459, the charges were grand theft of a motor vehicle pursuant to § 812.014(2)(c)(6), and fleeing and attempting to elude a law enforcement officer with high speed pursuit pursuant to § 316.1935(2), both of which are third degree felonies; the state nolle prossed charges of burglary of a conveyance and resisting arrest without violence. In case number 96-6584, the charge was possession of cocaine, a third degree felony pursuant to §§ 893.13(6)(a) and 893.03(2)(a)(4).
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M.Q. v. State, 818 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)…esentation in juvenile proceedings. Juveniles must be offered legal representation at each critical stage of the proceedings.4 See T.S. v. State, 773 So. 2d 635 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000); A.G. v. State, 737 So. 2d 1244 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999); A.D. v. State, 740 So. 2d 565 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999). This includes, inter alia, at the plea and dispositional hearings. If counsel is waived by a child, the record must demonstrate that the waiver was freely and intelligently given. See State v. B.P., 810 So. 2d 918 (Fla.2002); V.…
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Duval v. State, 744 So. 2d 523 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)…des: "Any person not licensed or otherwise authorized by the Supreme Court of Florida who shall practice law or assume or hold himself out to the public as qualified to practice in this state” is guilty of a misdemeanor. . See, e.g., A.D. v. State, 740 So. 2d 565 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999) (reversing because juvenile was represented by intern at disposition hearing; record silent regarding juvenile's waiver or consent and no showing that intern was supervised at hearing); L.R. v. State, 698 So. 2d 915 (Fla. 4th DCA…
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S.S. v. State, 744 So. 2d 600 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)…appointed if I cannot afford one[.]” The form itself is insufficient to overcome the arraignment deficiency and does not, in any event, abrogate the responsibility of the trial judge under Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.165. See A.D. v. State, 740 So. 2d 565 (Fla. 5th DGA 1999), and A.P. v. State, 740 So. 2d 1241 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999). Counsel was eventually appointed for trial on the issue of whether S.S. was a street gang member pursuant to section 874.04, Florida Statutes (Supp.1996). However, this s…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Maddox v. State, 708 So. 2d 617 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)
- J.R.V. v. State, 715 So. 2d 1135 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)
- L.R. v. State, 698 So. 2d 915 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)
- In the Interest of J.H., 580 So. 2d 162 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)
- In the Interest of J.H., 596 So. 2d 453 (Fla. 1992)
- T.G. v. State, 741 So. 2d 517 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999)
- S.B. v. State, 670 So. 2d 1076 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)