McCOLLUM DECLINES TO BRING QUO WARRANTO ACTION - FACDL PETITIONS SUPREME COURT
The Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL) received a letter from Attorney General Bill McCollum declining to bring the quo warranto action they requested. FACDL has filed a petition in the Florida Supreme Court to prevent the new appointed conflict regional counsel system from going into effect.
“The Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers appreciates Attorney General Bill McCollum’s prompt response to our request,” said A. Russell Smith, FACDL president. “The attorney general has demonstrated that he understands the serious nature of this impending crisis, and we are pleased to be able to proceed with our petition in the Florida Supreme Court immediately.”
The Petition also raises concerns that the new appointed conflict public defenders are appointed by the Executive Branch, which also oversees Florida ’s State Attorneys. This creates the appearance that the new appointed conflict public defenders might be discouraged from aggressively defending clients, to avoid repercussions from state government, especially in high profile cases.
“ Florida ’s Constitution goes to great lengths to guarantee a zealous defense for accused citizens and the independence of defense counsel,” said Smith. “Those guarantees are extinguished when the chief law enforcement officer in the state is choosing the defense lawyer.”
The full text of FACDL’s original letter to the Attorney General, as well as his response and the petition to the Florida Supreme Court, may be found at http://www.FACDL.org.
possible progress?
I like the new video feature. Can we send suggestions? I took a funny exchange in Gold's courtroom the other day that you might find of interest.
Funny addition with the utubes. It would be nice to see it lighten up a little around here. Maybe a judge could do something nice for the community he lives in or something.
What does the article mean exactly?
Now they want to institutionalize patronage. The situation has shifted under another definition.
You are dealing with ideological robots. The argument although a sound one, will meet with opposition for reasons of political expedience.
http://www.justicebuilding.blogspot.com/
"THEY SHOT SONNY ON THE CAUSEWAY"
Conflict with the Conflict office?
Our spies say yes.
As another secret source once muttered many years ago “follow the money” or in our case, the lack thereof.
It should be no secret that Governor Crist’s little experiment with the Sixth Amendment right to counsel has developed several powerful enemies in several places. Beyond the lawyers and lawyer-lobbyists, can you think of another group of people who are more than a bit ticked off?
The answer is the Mayors and County Executives of local governments who are being forced to foot some of the bill for the ROC office. Politics makes strange bedfellows, and that could not be more clearer than in Dade County where an unlikely confluence of defense lawyers and Dade County executives have banded together.
What Crist has joined together, let no man tear asunder? Not when it comes to the Regional Counsel Office.
What Rumpole has learned is that Dade County is now of the opinion that SB 1088- the bill that creates the Regional Counsel Office- is unconstitutional. Because Dade County believes that SB 1088 is unconstitutional, the County now is of the belief that Dade County is under no obligation to fund their portion of SB-1088.
What does that mean?
It means that while Mr. Joe George and his top leftenants were making the rounds in the Justice Building Thursday introducing themselves to Judges and pledging to work hard in representing defendants, powerful political forces were at work undermining Mr. George’s office’s very existence.
Dade County funds its projects with a Budget Memo. Rumpole has obtained that Memo, and there is currently no funding for the ROC included. There is also consideration for adding language in the Memo indicating Dade’s official position: that the county is under no obligation to fund ROC.
Translation: Mr. George and his Rockettes have no money for office space, so they better start getting used to working out of their homes. It’s ironic. Because of Mr. George’s existence, several criminal defense attorneys have opted to work out of their home to save costs while the court appointment mess shakes out. Now, Mr. George and his staff have no money for office space either.
Karama Kramer.
Unfortunately, that may not be 100% correct, because we have received conflicting information that the State legislators, anticipating these maneuvers, have authorized additional funds to cover the first year of expenses. Yet we have also learned that as late as Thursday Mr. Crist cut another 2 million from the ROC offices.
Like most politics, its all pretty confusing to a poor country lawyer.
Be that as it may, it cannot be very comforting to Mr. George and his Rockettes to know that their very existence depends upon the additional funding of the legislature to make up for the hostile reception from local governments that everyone was anticipating they would receive.
Come next session conflict counsel will be gone the wheel will be back (or never leave) and defense attorneys will be offered less for cases then ever before and they will gladly take them. Who knows maybe the wheel goes and its back to Judges selection.
Wonder if Chris Roberts will get any appointments? Bwahahahahahahahahaha!!!
If that's indeed the case, you can bet the judges won't have anything to do with selection of SPDs. They will have to follow strict guidelines set down for assignment accountability. Otherwise, we've not seen anything yet. Huge investigation to follow. They've managed to keep the abuses under cove thus far, but the top will blow off putting a few judges under close scrutiny for past actions.
Maybe with technology the wheel can be useful again. There should be no reason that the courtrooms can't ID in real time who is being appointed on cases so the next one "up" on the wheel is instantaneously. regardless of whether they go back to that or even the old system of judges appointing SPDs, it cant be worse than the Conflict Counsel Office system they came up with.
http://www.justicebuilding.blogspot.com/
FIDA
No it’s not a secret Masonic organization.
Nor is it the female version of Fido, your local neighborhood mutt.
It may well be Joe George and his Rockettes worst nightmare.
We requested an email on FIDA, and here is what we got, which we have edited:
FIDA, inc. or Forida Indigent Defense Association is a non profit organization dedicated to defeating SB 1088. Also affiliated with FIDA is a CCE or a committee of continuous existence called "Alliance For Legal Reform." Both organizations have been raising money for the singular purpose of getting things back to the way they used to be vis a vis the court appointment system. To date, we have raised around $30, 000.00. FIDA’s philosophy is that the best way to influence the process is to become part of the political process. To that end FIDA has hired lobbyists to advance our case. The firm we hired is called the "Barretto Group." Brian May, one of the partners, was Dade Mayor Pinellas' chief of staff for 8 years. Part one of the plan advanced by May and FIDA was to get the county attorney to cut funding for the ROC offices. This just happened last week. Part two is to get the County Commission to sue the state since SB 1088 requires the County to pay for elements of the conflict office notwithstanding article 5 which reserves such costs for the state. We also have a lobbyist working the Broward County Commission for the same goals. Step Three is to work the legislature once the law suit is filed. The Legislature does not have the highest respect or concern for criminal defense attorneys or our clients. FIDA believes that the reason this whole problem occurred is that criminal defense attorneys have never played the game- lobbying Tallahassee to make sure that the money in the budget for criminal appointments would remain.
Currently FIDA is paying the Barretto group $7,000.00 per month. Attorneys have given up to $3,000.00 but the average donation has been around $1,500.00. FIDA needs to raise around $250,000.00 per year to become major players.
Criminal Defense Attorneys who want to help should send checks
payable to FIDA
to 777 Brickell Avenue
Suite 400
Miami, Florida, 33131
Rumpole says: It seems simple- you want to get your money out of Tallahassee? Pay up and play the game.