Case Name: FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES, Appellant, v. John D. FREEMAN, Appellee
Court: Florida Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2006-01-26
Citations: 921 So. 2d 598
Docket Number: No. SC04-1492
Parties: FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES, Appellant, v. John D. FREEMAN, Appellee.
Judges: PARIENTE, C.J., and WELLS, ANSTEAD, LEWIS, CANTERO, and BELL, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 921
Pages: 598–611

Head Matter:
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES, Appellant, v. John D. FREEMAN, Appellee.
No. SC04-1492.
Supreme Court of Florida.
Jan. 26, 2006.
Richard T. Donelan, Jr. and William J. Thurber, IV, Tallahassee, FL, for Appellant.
Frank J. Tassone, Jr. and Rick A. Sichta of Tassone and Eler, Jacksonville, FL, for Appellee.

Opinion:
QUINCE, J.
The Florida Department of Financial Services (Department) appeals an order from the Circuit Court of the Fourth Judicial Circuit granting John D. Freeman's motion for payment of attorney's fees in excess of the statutory maximum for defense counsel's representation of Freeman for the filing of a petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. For the reasons explained below, we vacate the trial court's order and remand for an evidentiary hearing on the issue of attorney's fees pursuant to section 27.711, Florida Statutes (2005).
FACTS
This case involves the payment of attorney's fees to a registry attorney in excess of the amounts provided for by statute. John D. Freeman, a prisoner under a sentence of death, appealed to this Court the trial court's denial of his motion for post-conviction relief. After briefing and oral argument on the appeal by another lawyer, the trial court appointed attorney Frank J. Tassone (Tassone) to represent Freeman. Ten days after this Court affirmed the trial court's denial of postconviction relief, Tassone filed a motion for extension of time to file a motion for rehearing. A motion for rehearing was filed, arguing in substantial part that Freeman was entitled to relief based on Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002). We denied the motion for rehearing, and thereafter Tassone filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court based on the Ring issue he raised in Freeman's motion for rehearing. The petition for writ of certiorari was denied.
After certiorari relief was denied, Tas-sone filed a motion in the circuit court for attorney's fees and miscellaneous expenses pursuant to section 27.711, Florida Statutes (2005). The motion sought fees and costs for work performed and expenses incurred on and after November 12, 2003; that is, for work on the petition for writ of certiorari. Tassone sought a total of $27,940.74 in fees and costs. The Department argued that the amount requested was unreasonable and should be limited to the statutory amount of $2,500 plus applicable costs. See § 27.711(4)(g), Fla. Stat. (2005). Tassone argued that because he became involved in Freeman's case after the postconviction motion was denied, he did not have a working knowledge of the case, and therefore had to review forty boxes of record in order to adequately represent Freeman. The trial court granted Tassone's motion and ordered the Department to pay the fees and costs. The Department filed this appeal, alleging that the circuit court departed from the essential requirements of law by refusing to apply the maximum fee limit prescribed by the statute.
LAW AND ANALYSIS
Section 27.711, Florida Statutes (2005), governs the payment of fees to appointed counsel in postconviction capital proceedings, and is the "exclusive means of compensating a court-appointed attorney who represents a capital defendant." Id. § 27.711(3). Section 27.711(4) outlines the maximum amount an attorney is entitled to be compensated at each stage of the postconviction process. Section 27.711(4)(g) is particularly applicable in this case and provides:
At the conclusion of the capital defendant's postconviction capital collateral proceedings in state court, the attorney is entitled to $100 per hour, up to a maximum of $2,500, after filing a petition for writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States.
In addition, the attorney may request up to a maximum of $15,000 for approved incidental costs, such as investigators. See id. § 27.711(5). The attorney may also be reimbursed up to $15,000 for miscellaneous expenses, such as copying and expert witness fees. See id. § 27.711(6). Since 1998, this particular subsection has provided that expenses exceeding $15,000 that are incurred under extraordinary circumstances may be paid at the court's discretion. Id.
Tassone submitted to the Department two invoices for fees and costs associated with the preparation and filing of the petition for writ of certiorari, otaling $27,940.74. The Department responded that the statute authorized payment of only $2,500 for attorney's fees. Tassone set the issue for hearing, and the matter was heard telephonically. During the hearing, Tassone explained to the judge that he had to review the entire record because he did not represent Freeman during the trial, appeal, or postconviction process. Tassone explained that at that time the retroactive application of Ring was a relevant issue and he had to educate himself to assess the applicability of such a claim in Freeman's case. The judge accepted Tassone's explanation for incurring excessive time and expenses and concluded that the hours billed were reasonable. The judge granted Tassone's motion for fees and costs in its entirety.
This Court has held that it is within the trial judge's discretion to grant fees beyond the statutory maximum to registry counsel in capital collateral cases when "extraordinary or unusual circumstances exist." Olive v. Maas, 811 So.2d 644, 654 (Fla.2002). In Olive, this Court held that fees in excess of the statutory cap are not always awarded to registry counsel in capital collateral cases; however, registry counsel is not foreclosed from requesting excess compensation "should he or she establish that, given the facts and circumstances of a particular case, compensation within the statutory cap would be confiscatory of his or her time, energy and talent and violate the principles outlined in Mak-emson and its progeny." Id.; see also Makemson v. Martin County, 491 So.2d 1109 (Fla.1986).
Makemson is the seminal case for determining whether appointed counsel in capital cases is limited to the compensation provided within the statutory schemes set forth by the Legislature. At issue in Mak-emson was the constitutionality of a statute that set a fee schedule for compensation to attorneys who represented capital defendants at the trial and during direct appeal stages. This Court held that the statute was not unconstitutional on its face, but further indicated the statute could be unconstitutional if applied "in such a manner as to curtail the court's inherent power to ensure the adequate representation of the criminally accused." Makemson, 491 So.2d at 1112. This Court then explained that the trial court may depart from the statutory fee caps and award excess fees "in extraordinary and unusual cases . to ensure that an attorney who has served the public by defending the accused is not compensated in an amount which is confiscatory of his or her time, energy and talents." Id. at 1115. Inadequate compensation could create an economic disincentive for appointed counsel to spend more than a minimum amount of time on the case and discourage competent attorneys from agreeing to represent indigent capital defendants. In effect, such a lack of competent attorneys could jeopardize an indigent defendant's constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel. While the defendant's right to effective representation was the main focus of the Makemson decision, this Court nonetheless reasoned that counsel's right to fair compensation was inextricably intertwined with that right. Id. at 1112.
The Makemson rationale, that compensation of counsel and the effectiveness of counsel are inextricably intertwined, was applied in the capital collateral context in Olive. That rationale is also expressed in the legislative staff analysis to chapter 99-221, Laws of Florida, which clearly articulates the Legislature's concern with the fee caps in capital collateral cases. The legislative history states specifically that "where unusual or extraordinary circumstances exist, the fees caps established by s. 27.711(4), F.S., and increased by the provisions of this bill, do not prevent a court from ordering payment above the maximum authorized." Fla. S. Comm. on Crim. Just., CS for SC 2054, Staff Analysis 7 (March 17, 1999) (on file with the comm.); see also Olive, 811 So.2d at 653; Arbelaez v. Butterworth, 738 So.2d 326, 328 (Fla.1999) (Anstead, J., specially concurring).
In this case, the Department does not contest the application of Makemson and its progeny to this collateral proceeding. The Department argues that Tassone did not adequately establish that unusual or extraordinary circumstances sufficiently existed in order to warrant compensation in excess of the statutory cap. The trial court granted Tassone's request for fees in full after hearing a brief argument by counsel and over the objection by the State. The trial court found that the $2,500 statutory maximum was not a sufficient amount for attorney's fees incurred in the preparation and filing of the petition for writ of certiorari and the reply brief in opposition. The trial court ordered the Department to pay Tassone the total amount of $27,940.74 in fees and miscellaneous expenses and cited to section 27.711(4)(a)-(d), (6), Florida Statutes. In addition, the trial judge commented that Tassone has an excellent reputation and he was confident that Tassone reviewed the documents he said were necessary in order to represent his client competently. However, no experts testified on behalf of counsel regarding such things as the necessity to research and review any particular portion of the record for the preparation of the petition for writ of certiorari, what would have been reasonable in these circumstances, or whether this case presented an extraordinary or unusual situation requiring fees in excess of the statutory amount.
Because the trial court's decision in a case involving attorney's fees is based upon findings of fact, it will not be disturbed if supported by competent, substantial evidence. See, e.g., Sheppard & White, P.A. v. City of Jacksonville, 827 So.2d 925, 933 (Fla.2002) (finding competent, substantial evidence supported the award of fees by the trial court); Philip J. Padovano, Florida Appellate Practice, § 9.6 at 138 (2005 ed.). Thus, we consider whether there is competent, substantial evidence to support the trial court's decision in this case.
While an attorney assigned to represent a death row inmate for the first time at the federal appeal stage may face extraordinary or unusual circumstances requiring many hours of work to justify payment in excess of the statutory limits, the attorney has the burden of establishing facts in support of such an award. The record in this case, however, provides no evidence upon which the judge could rely to determine if extraordinary or unusual circumstances existed to support an award of excess fees. The record in this case consists of only nine pages comprising the motion for an order of payment of attorney's fees, the notice of hearing, the order on the motion for payment of attorney's fees, and the notice of appeal. While the transcript of the hearing includes arguments of counsel, no sworn testimony was presented. There is no discussion of what was contained in the boxes of record or how many volumes pertained to postcon-viction proceedings as opposed to those proceedings on direct appeal, etc. The billings were not verified, there is no testimony regarding the propriety of the time submitted in the billings, and there is no testimony from any expert as to the ex traordinary or unusual aspects of Tas-sone's representation.
Because there is no competent, substantial evidence in the record to support an award of fees in excess of the statutory amounts, we remand this case to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing on this issue.
Tassone argues that the statutory scheme for the payment of attorney's fees is unconstitutional as applied to him. This argument was never raised below and cannot be raised for the first time on appeal. ee Turner v. State, 888 So.2d 73, 74 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004) (holding that constitutional challenge to a statute made for the first time on appeal would not warrant reversal of trial court's ruling).
Tassone also argues that the statutory fee cap under section 27.711 is unconstitutional on its face because all death cases are extraordinary and unusual and attorney's fees should not be capped. See, e.g., White v. Bd. of County Comm'rs of Pinellas County, 537 So.2d 1376, 1378 (Fla.1989) (finding that "all capital cases by their very nature can be considered extraordinary and unusual and arguably justify an award of attorney's fees in excess of the current statutory fee cap"); see also State v. Johnson, 616 So.2d 1, 3 (Fla.1993) ("A facial challenge to a statute's constitutional validity may be raised for the first time on appeal only if the error is fundamental."). However, this Court has determined that statutory fee caps are not facially unconstitutional. See; Olive, 811 So.2d at 654; Makemson, 491 So.2d at 1112. The mere fact that the case is one where the death penalty could be or has been imposed does not render the statutory limits facially unconstitutional.
CONCLUSION
While we appreciate the time it takes to effectively prepare for a trial, prepare an appeal, prepare and present a motion for postconviction relief, or prepare a petition for writ of certiorari in capital cases, and while we understand that some cases merit payment in excess of the statutory limits, the justification for exceeding those limits must be demonstrated by competent, substantial evidence in the record. Tassone's justification in support of exceeding the statutory limits was incomplete. Thus, we conclude that the trial court's order granting Freeman's motion for attorney's fees in excess of the statutory limit is not supported by competent, substantial evidence. We therefore reverse the trial court's order and remand this matter for a full evidentiary hearing.
It is so ordered.
PARIENTE, C.J., and WELLS, ANSTEAD, LEWIS, CANTERO, and BELL, JJ., concur.
PARIENTE, C.J., specially concurs with an opinion, in which ANSTEAD and CANTERO, JJ., concur.
CANTERO, J., concurs with an opinion, in which WELLS and BELL, JJ., concur.