LOU GHELFI, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1971-07-20
No. 70-85
Before SWANN, C. J., and HENDRY and BARKDULL, JJ.
251 So. 2d 720 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1971) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Lou Ghelfi appealed the summary denial of a Rule 1.850 petition for post-conviction relief, arguing his right to appeal was thwarted when his privately retained counsel's appeal was dismissed for failure to prosecute due to his subsequent indigency. The court affirmed the denial, holding that Ghelfi had an affirmative duty to inform the court of his indigency and that the dismissal resulted from his own failure rather than state action.


Holding

The court affirmed the summary denial, holding that although Ghelfi may have been indigent when his appeal was dismissed, he had an affirmative duty to inform the court of his indigency and failed to do so, and therefore no state action frustrated his appeal. The court also held that the issues were barred by res judicata as they had been litigated in prior habeas corpus proceedings.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant seeking appointment of counsel for a direct appeal must inform the court of their indigency when private counsel was retained for trial.

[2] A defendant's failure to inform the court of indigency after retaining private counsel for trial, leading to the dismissal of an appeal for lack of prosecution, does not…

Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“Petitioner was represented by privately retained counsel at his trial, and the same counsel appealed his conviction. This appeal was dismissed for lack of prosecution when petitioner evidently could no longer afford to pay his attorney. While there is no doubt that a defendant, if indigent, is entitled to appointment of counsel for the purpose of directly appealing a judgment of conviction, nevertheless there is an affirmative duty upon the defendant to communicate these facts to the Court, if he retained private counsel for the duration of his trial.”

Establishes the key distinction that indigent defendants must affirmatively inform the court of their indigency to obtain appointed appellate counsel.

Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Ghelfi was charged with robbery in 1967 and retained private counsel, who obtained a conviction and initially appealed. The appeal was dismissed for f…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

By this appeal, the appellant seeks review of the summary denial of a petition filed pursuant to Rule 1.850 CrPR, 33 F.S. A.

The appellant was charged in 1967 with the crime of robbery. He retained private counsel, was convicted, and his private counsel took an appeal. This appeal was subsequently dismissed for failure to prosecute. Thereafter, the appellant filed an original habeas corpus proceedings in this court, alleging a thwarted appeal, which *721writ was denied. State ex rel. Ghelfi v. Wainwright, Fla.App.1969, 217 So.2d 922. Thereafter, he filed an original petition for habeas corpus in the Supreme Court of Florida alleging the same or similar ground, and that court denied relief. Ghelfi v. Wainwright, Fla.1969, 232 So.2d 182. He subsequently filed a habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, setting forth the essential facts and was again denied relief, in which Federal proceedings the judge rendered an opinion which included the following:

* * * * * * “Petitioner’s first claim is that he was denied his right to direct appeal of his conviction as provided for in Griffin v. Illinois, 351 U.S. 12, 76 S.Ct. 585, 100 L.Ed. 891 (1956). The facts as admitted by petitioner, however, do not fall within the doctrine of Griffin or Douglas v. California, 372 U.S. 353, 83 S.Ct. 814, 9 L.Ed.2d 811 (1963). Petitioner was represented by privately retained counsel at his trial, and the same counsel appealed his conviction. This appeal was dismissed for lack of prosecution when petitioner evidently could no longer afford to pay his attorney. While there is no doubt that a defendant, if indigent, is entitled to appointment of counsel for the purpose of directly appealing a judgment of conviction, nevertheless there is an affirmative duty upon the defendant to communicate these facts to the Court, if he retained private counsel for the duration of his trial. Schaeffer v. Wainwright, 218 So.2d 442 (Fla.1969), Harris v. Beto, 392 F.2d 191 (5th Cir. 1968). Thus, petitioner’s lack of counsel on direct appeal was not due to any state action, but rather due to petitioner’s own failure to inform the Court of his indi-gency.” [Emphasis supplied.]
* * * * * *

Thereafter, the instant petition was filed in the trial court and summarily denied. We affirm.

Although the appellant may have been indigent at the time his appeal was dismissed for failure of prosecution by his privately retained counsel, this matter was never brought to the attention of the trial court or the appellate court, and no state action frustrated his original appeal. We therefore affirm the action of the trial court, first because the matters attempted to be litigated had already been litigated in the prior habeas corpus proceedings and those decisions would be res judicata. Whitney v. State, Fla.App.1966, 184 So.2d 207; Mitchell v. State, Fla.App.1967, 203 So.2d 676. Further, this record fails to demonstrate any State action which thwarted the original appeal. Baggett v. Wainwright, Fla.1969, 229 So.2d 239; Douglas v. California, 372 U.S. 353, 83 S. Ct. 814, 9 L.Ed.2d 811.

Therefore, for the reasons above stated, the order here under review be and the same is hereby affirmed.

Affirmed.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Peterson v. State, 264 So. 2d 45 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972)
    …s been demonstrated. Fisher v. State, Fla.App.1970, 239 So. 2d 863; Mears v. State, Fla.App.1970, 232 So. 2d 749; Mitchell v. State, Fla.App.1967, 203 So. 2d 676 cert. den. 392 U.S. 913, 88 S.Ct. 2073, 20 L.Ed.2d 1371; Ghelfi v. State, Fla.App.1971, 251 So. 2d 720; Marshall v. State, Fla.App.1969, 224 So. 2d 723; Stratos v. State, Fla.App.1964, 167 So. 2d 771; and Wade v. [*46] State, Fla.App.1965, 175 So. 2d 572. See also Long v. United States, 1969, 137 U.S.App.D.C. 311, 424 F. 2d 799. Our determination, wh…

Authorities Cited (11 total)

View all 11 cited authorities →

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw