WALTER WOLL, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1963-10-17
No. E-343
STURGIS, C. J., and CARROLL, DONALD K., and RAWLS, JL, concur.
156 So. 2d 909 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1963) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

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Synopsis

Walter Woll, an indigent appellant convicted of aggravated assault, sought to discharge his trial counsel and have the court appoint a named substitute attorney to represent him on appeal. The Florida District Court of Appeal held that while an insolvent appellant may obtain substitute counsel upon a clear showing of good cause, he cannot designate which attorney shall be appointed, and Woll's motion failed to demonstrate sufficient grounds for substitution.


Holding

An insolvent appellant is not entitled to designate which counsel shall be appointed to represent him on appeal. While an appellant may obtain substitute counsel upon a clear showing of good cause demonstrating that appointed counsel is unfit to serve, the motion must be denied where the appellant has not made a proper showing of facts warranting such relief.


Key Quotes

“There is no obligation on the part of counsel appointed to represent an insolvent person in the trial court to take an appeal on behalf of, or represent him on an appeal from the judgment of conviction in that court.”

Establishes that trial counsel has no duty to represent an insolvent defendant on appeal

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Facts & Procedural History

Woll was convicted of aggravated assault and appealed pro se as an indigent defendant. He complained that his trial counsel stated he would file an ap…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

This is a direct appeal in a criminal prosecution from a judgment of conviction on a charge of aggravated assault. The indigent appellant, acting pro se, has addressed a letter to the clerk of this court, which we treat as a motion, complaining that he has not personally received a copy of the transcript of the reporter’s notes taken on the trial of this cause, and requesting (1) that this court discharge the court-appointed attorney of record who represented him on the trial of this cause, *910and appoint in his stead an attorney named by the movant, and (2) that the court upon appointing such substitute counsel arrange for an interview between counsel and appellant to discuss all aspects of his case on appeal.

The grounds on the motion are:

(a) That his present attorney of record stated that he would file an appeal but did not do so. The fact is that the case has been appealed by movant, acting pro se.
'(b) That his said attorney at the trial stated “he would give the grounds” but did not do so. It is not clear what the movant has in mind.
(c) That said attorney “refused to request a capias against the complaining'witness.” It is not clear what the movant has in mind.
That while the trial court was charging the jury his said attorney left the courtroom and returned only after the verdict was announced. It is not made to appear in what particular appellant was prejudiced thereby.
(e) That said attorney made many promises to summons witnesses” but did not do so. It is not made to appear in what particular appellant was prejudiced thereby.

The record on this appeal, which includes a transcript of the reporter’s notes, indicates compliance by the clerk of the trial court with the directions given by appellant pro se for the making up of the record for purposes of the appeal.

There is no obligation on the part of counsel appointed to represent an insolvent person in the trial court to take an appeal on behalf of, or represent him on an appeal from the judgment of conviction in that court. It does not appear that any attorney is of record in this court as attorney for appellant. All pleadings in this court on behalf of appellant have been filed by him in proper person. An insolvent appellant is not entitled to designate counsel to be appointed by the court to represent him on the appeal. He is entitled, of course, upon a clear showing of good cause, to have counsel appointed in the stead of court-appointed counsel who is shown to be unfit to serve. We emphasize that substitution of counsel is not a privilege to be arbitrarily exercised by the appellant, but only a right afforded upon a proper showing of facts warranting such relief.

The motion of appellant for appointment of a named attorney to represent him on this appeal must be and it is denied, without prejudice to the right of appellant to promptly move this court for appointment of an attorney to represent him in the premises.

It is so ordered.

STURGIS, C. J., and CARROLL, DONALD K., and RAWLS, JL, concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Donald v. State, 166 So. 2d 453 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964)
    …ck and choose counsel, or to arbitrarily reject court-appointed counsel. It is settled that an insolvent defendant does not have the right to select court-appointed counsel. Wilder v. State, Fla.App.1963, 156 So. 2d 395; Woll v. State, Fla.App.1963, 156 So. 2d 909. The judgment is reversed with directions to the trial court (1) to set aside and declare as void and of no effect all proceedings subsequent to the withdrawal of the Public [*458] Defender; and (2) to appoint counsel for the defendant. Reversed.…
  • Woll v. State, 161 So. 2d 580 (Fla. 1st DCA 1964)
    …PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See also Fla.App., 156 So. 2d 909.…

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