Case Name: Ronald Edward HILL, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent
Court: Florida Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1985-04-04
Citations: 467 So. 2d 695
Docket Number: No. 64493
Parties: Ronald Edward HILL, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent.
Judges: BOYD, C.J., ADKINS, OVERTON and McDONALD, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 467
Pages: 695–697

Head Matter:
Ronald Edward HILL, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent.
No. 64493.
Supreme Court of Florida.
April 4, 1985.
Jerry Hill, Public Defender and Paul C. Helm, Asst. Public Defender, Chief, Appellate Div., Tenth Judicial Circuit, Bartow, for petitioner.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen. and William I. Munsey, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for respondent.

Opinion:
ALDERMAN, Justice.
We have for review the decision of the District Court of Appeal, Second District, in Hill v. State, 438 So.2d 971 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983), which expressly and directly conflicts with Ehn v. Smith, 426 So.2d 570 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983).
Petitioner and five other inmates were charged with escape from Polk Correctional Institution, assault by a prisoner, and criminal mischief. The 180-day speedy trial period began to run on June 10,1982, when petitioner was recaptured. On September 9, 1982, the public defender's office was appointed to represent all six inmates. At the pretrial conference on November 2, 1982, the assistant public defender moved to withdraw as defense counsel for all six inmates on the basis of conflict created by the prisoners' differing degrees of involvement in the escape and diverse defense strategies. The public defender explained that his request for withdrawal came at this particular time because his initial hope of resolving the cases by pleas was thwarted by the decision of four of the inmates to go to trial. The trial court allowed the attorney to withdraw and, on its own motion, continued each case until November 23,1982. Substitute counsel was appointed to represent petitioner on November 5.
On December 7, petitioner's new counsel moved for petitioner's discharge, alleging that the 180-day speedy trial period had expired. An evidentiary hearing was held the next day, and the motion for discharge was denied. The trial judge found that the rescheduling of petitioner's trial was "imminently necessary" and that he could not possibly have gone to trial as scheduled.
The Second District Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that the failure to hold petitioner's trial within the speedy trial period was attributable to defense counsel's eleventh hour withdrawal and the resulting continuance necessitated by it. Having waived the protection of the 180-day speedy trial rule as a result of this continuance, the district court concluded, he was not entitled to discharge under constitutional speedy trial principles. It explained:
In the case sub judice, however, appellant's trial date had been set at the time of the public defender's withdrawal. Defense counsel's abrupt departure from the case not only lead to a redocketing of the pretrial conference, but also to a continuance of appellant's trial to facilitate appointment of substitute counsel and his preparation for trial. Under these circumstances, we believe the failure to hold trial within the speedy trial period must be attributed to defense counsel's eleventh hour withdrawal and the resulting continuance necessitated by it.
438 So.2d at 973 (footnote omitted). We agree with the Second District's decision.
We disapprove Ehn v. Smith to the extent that it conflicts with the present case.
Accordingly, the decision of the Second District is approved.
It is so ordered.
BOYD, C.J., ADKINS, OVERTON and McDONALD, JJ., concur.
EHRLICH, J., dissents with an opinion, in which SHAW, J., concurs.