KIRK HARDY AND THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDER FOR THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA, PETITIONERS,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, ET AL., RESPONDENTS
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An indigent defendant charged with a misdemeanor who remains jailed awaiting trial due to inability to afford bond is entitled to appointed counsel even if the judge certifies no jail time will be imposed upon conviction, because pretrial detention constitutes a "time served" sentence.
An indigent defendant incarcerated pretrial due to inability to afford bond is entitled to appointed counsel regardless of judicial certification that no jail time will be imposed upon conviction.
[1] An indigent defendant detained pretrial due to inability to afford bond is entitled to appointed counsel even when the trial court certifies that no jail sentence will be…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceKirk Hardy, an indigent defendant charged with a misdemeanor, remained in jail awaiting trial because he could not afford bond, despite the trial judg…
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FLETCHER, Judge.
The county court for Miami-Dade County certified to this court the following question as one of great public importance:
WHETHER AN INDIGENT DEFENDANT WHO IS CHARGED WITH A MISDEMEANOR AND REMAINS IN JAIL AWAITING TRIAL, IN LIEU OF A REASONABLE BOND, IS ENTITLED TO APPOINTED COUNSEL WHERE THE JUDGE HAS FILED A WRITTEN STATEMENT THAT NO JAIL TIME WILL BE IMPOSED IN THE EVENT OF CONVICTION?
We have studied rule 3.111, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, regarding provision of counsel to indigents, section 27.51, Florida Statutes (1999), regarding the duties of the public defender, and State v. Ull, 642 So. 2d 721 (Fla.1994). We conclude that any time an indigent defendant is incarcerated prior to trial because she or he cannot afford bond, and thus faces the prospect of awaiting trial in jail, a public defender shall be appointed, notwithstanding that certification is made that there will be no jail time to be served upon conviction. Even though the defendant will be released pursuant to the certification, with no additional jail time, pretrial detention under such circumstances is tantamount to a “time served” sentence and the indigent defendant is entitled to representation by the public defender. The certified question being so answered, the petition for writ of mandamus is hereby granted. The county court for Miami-Dade County shall reinstate petitioner’s public defender. Because we trust that the county court will fully comply with the dictates of this order, we withhold issuance of the writ.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Huser v. State, 775 So. 2d 998 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)…PER CURIAM. Because the question herein is identical to that in Hardy v. State, 776 So. 2d 962 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000) such decision being issued this same date, we grant the petition for writ of mandamus. The county court for Miami-Dade County shall reinstate Huser’s public defender. Because we trust that the county court will fully comply with t…
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Amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, 837 So. 2d 924 (Fla. 2002)…not seeking incarceration of a defendant in custody and the court immediately discharging court-appointed counsel and continuing the case for another date, thereby leaving the defendant in custody without the benefit of counsel. See Hardy v. State, 776 So. 2d 962 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000) (when indigent defendant is incarcerated prior to trial, counsel must be appointed notwithstanding certification that no jail time will be served upon conviction). When originally proposed, new rule 3.994 was entitled “Order of No…
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State v. Brown, 995 So. 2d 1034 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)…used for enhancement under Hlad. After his DUI arrest on November 30, 1988, the defendant spent forty-eight hours in jail because he could not afford bail. He alleged that on October 26, 1990 he was sentenced to “time served.” Citing Hardy v. State, 776 So. 2d 962 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000), the defendant persuaded the trial court that the forty-eight hours he spent in jail before trial constituted a jail sentence which required appointment of counsel. In Hardy, the third district held that an indigent defendant who…
Authorities Cited
- State v. ULL, 642 So. 2d 721 (Fla. 1994)