Case Name: Ronald J. FLOYD, Petitioner, v. PAROLE AND PROBATION COMMISSION, et al., Respondents
Court: Florida Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1987-06-25
Citations: 509 So. 2d 919
Docket Number: No. 68878
Parties: Ronald J. FLOYD, Petitioner, v. PAROLE AND PROBATION COMMISSION, et al., Respondents.
Judges: McDonald, C.J., and OVERTON and EHRLICH, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 509
Pages: 919–923

Head Matter:
Ronald J. FLOYD, Petitioner, v. PAROLE AND PROBATION COMMISSION, et al., Respondents.
No. 68878.
Supreme Court of Florida.
June 25, 1987.
Michael E. Allen, Public Defender, Second Judicial Circuit, Tallahassee, for petitioner.
Kurt E. Ahrendt, Asst. Gen. Counsel, Florida Parole and Probation Com’n, Tallahassee, for respondents.

Opinion:
GRIMES, Justice.
On petition for writ of habeas corpus, we consider the question of whether counsel should be furnished to indigent defendants in all parole revocation proceedings. We have jurisdiction under article V, section 3(b)(9), Florida Constitution.
Petitioner was convicted of armed robbery in 1974 and sentenced to prison for ninety-nine years. He was released on parole in 1981 to remain under supervision for twenty years. In 1985, he was charged with violating his parole. Following preliminary and final revocation hearings, the Florida Parole and Probation Commission revoked his parole for failing to make the required monthly reports and for failing to pay the costs of supervision.
Petitioner asserts that although he was indigent, the Commission refused his request for the appointment of a lawyer to represent him at the preliminary and final revocation hearings. The record reflects that the Commission determined pursuant to Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778, 93 S.Ct. 1756, 36 L.Ed.2d 656 (1973), that petitioner was not entitled to be furnished counsel because he admitted the charges, and he was sufficiently capable of speaking for himself on any matters which might justify or mitigate the violations in this uncomplicated case.
In Gagnon the United States Supreme Court held that a state is not under a constitutional duty to provide counsel for indigents in all probation or parole revocation proceedings, but the right to counsel should be determined on a case-by-case basis. However, in State v. Hicks, 478 So.2d 22 (Fla.1985), this Court went beyond Gagnon and held that the State of Florida must furnish counsel to all persons charged with probation violations. The petitioner now asks us to extend this rule to parole revocation proceedings.
The petitioner points to a number of procedural and substantive similarities in probation revocations and parole revocations. He argues that a uniform rule in all parole revocation proceedings would be more easily understood and result in a fairer application. He also argues that the providing of counsel would better protect the basic rights of parolees.
While we acknowledge the merit in these arguments, we conclude that if counsel is to be furnished in all parole revocation proceedings, this decision should be made by the legislature. Revocation of parole is not part of a criminal prosecution, and thus the full panoply of rights due a defendant in such a proceeding does not apply to parole revocations. Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972). While there are similarities in probation and parole, there are also some significant differences.
Probation is under the jurisdiction of the courts, and it was in the exercise of our authority over the court system that we determined in Hicks that counsel must be furnished in all probation revocation hearings. Parole is administered by the Commission. Moreover, parole revocation proceedings are conducted by nonlawyers. Requiring that counsel be furnished in every case would inevitably lead to the use of counsel by the state. As noted in Gagnon, the decision-making process would be prolonged and the financial cost to the state would be substantial. Finally, unlike probation revocation, parole revocation does not lead to a sentencing hearing which necessarily requires the appointment of counsel.
Since the Commission properly followed the dictates of Gagnon in determining that petitioner was not entitled to counsel in the subject parole revocation proceedings, we deny the petition for habeas corpus.
It is so ordered.
McDonald, C.J., and OVERTON and EHRLICH, JJ., concur.
BARKETT, J., dissents with an opinion.
KOGAN, J., dissents with an opinion, in which SHAW and BARKETT, JJ., concur.
We wish to recognize the excellent services rendered by Michael E. Allen, Public Defender of the Second Judicial Circuit, who this Court appointed to represent petitioner in this proceeding.