Opinion ID: 1940200
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Discharge of Appellant's Second Court-appointed Counsel

Text: Weaver's first appointed counsel was dismissed on conflict grounds and Hillard Moldof was appointed. During the course of Mr. Moldof's tenure as court-appointed counsel, the trial court granted ten continuances totaling about two years. Mr. Moldof's busy trial calendar threatened to delay the case even further due to a pending retrial in another case (referred to in the record as the Penalver case). Finally, over Weaver's objection the court removed Mr. Moldof and appointed Edward Salantrie. Weaver appeals that decision. The crime occurred on January 5, 1996. Mr. Moldof was appointed as a Special Public Defender on February 27, after Weaver's first counsel withdrew on conflict grounds. At a March 5 hearing, Mr. Moldof advised the court that the State had listed about 120 witnesses and that because this was a death penalty case he planned to depose virtually every single witness on the list. He notified the court that he would not be ready for trial in April. Thereafter, the court granted continuances at status conferences held on April 25, September 25, December 6, and February 13, 1997. At a status conference on March 26, 1997, the State requested a firm trial date, but Mr. Moldof responded that the State was going to present DNA evidence that could prove crucial. Defense counsel also noted that he was the only lawyer handling the case and he already had conducted about 100 depositions; he had taken as many as 20 depositions in one day. He argued that his inability to go to trial was a function of the State's lengthy witness list, which had approximately 200 potential witnesses, and the complexity of the case. On May 1, 1997, the court granted another continuance. Defense counsel mentioned the pending trial in Penalver and estimated that it would take five to six weeks. The court did not set a firm trial date for July because it had not heard any pretrial motions and depositions were still ongoing. On July 10, defense counsel, who was in the middle of trial in another case, received another continuance and the court set a September trial date. On September 19, defense counsel noted that the Penalver trial was in its sixth month. He told the court that he would not be ready for Weaver's trial. The court allowed another continuance. On November 20, Mr. Moldof informed the court that he was still in trial, but he hoped that the jury deliberations would begin December 15. The court granted another continuance. The trial judge informed the parties that she was leaving the criminal division and would not try the case and that another trial judge would take over the case. On December 23, 1997, at a status conference before the new trial judge, defense counsel informed the court that he still needed to conduct 140 depositions. The court continued the case and set a loose trial date for the end of March. The following exchange took place: THE COURT: [Mr. Moldof], I'm convinced that the delay in this case for two years has nothing to do with your, you know, being lackadaisical or not paying attention to this case. You have been involved in another case. MR. MOLDOF: That's all I'm saying . . . MR. SATZ: Listen, Your Honor, I just want to put this on the record and be clear. Just because Mr. Moldof cannot control this case, if he  when he accepted the appointment in this case or any, you know, during the portion thereof if he felt that he couldn't handle it with all the other cases, he should have gotten off. I'm not just going to sit here and let the State's case dissipate because it's not convenient. The court asked Mr. Moldof if he wanted to stay on the case and he responded: MR. MOLDOF: Judge, I'm going to do whatever Mr. Weaver wants and I've talked to him and he's comfortable with me representing him. All I'm saying is that this  the trial [in Penalver ] was unanticipated. That's the only problem that it raised. THE COURT: Right. . . . . THE COURT: Okay. All right. Then let me pick out a date in March. But, you know, I can sympathize with the plight of the Peney family. But, on the other hand, if we were to just satisfy them and rush to trial . . . we all know what the consequences are. If I hold his feet to the fire and force him to go to trial when he's not ready, if he's convicted it will be right back in my lap or someone else's lap. The court then mentioned to Mr. Moldof that after Penalver a host of other judges wanted him to start trying cases that he had pending before them. Defense counsel did not dispute this assertion. The court predicted that this situation presented the possibility that Weaver's case would not get to trial until December 1998. The court set a status conference for March 19, 1998. On February 6, 1998, defense counsel filed a Motion for Special Status and Determination of Continuous Circumstances. A hearing was held on February 16, where defense counsel informed the court that the nine-month trial in Penalver had ended in a mistrial. The retrial in Penalver was scheduled for April 1998 and defense counsel voiced the prospect that the retrial would take another eight months, thus delaying his preparation in Weaver's case. Mr. Moldof expressed that if he were relegated to the role of penalty phase counsel, he would resign. The prosecutor acknowledged that defense counsel had conducted 111 depositions. The court noted that a lot of work still needed to be done. Mr. Moldof suggested the appointment of another attorney to assist him in discovery matters, but the State noted that the contract of representation prohibited a lawyer from farming out some work to other lawyers so that the attorney himself presents his case and no one else's. At best, the contract allowed for the appointment of separate penalty phase counsel, but only one attorney could handle the guilt phase. The court noted that Weaver was an indigent defendant and did not have a right to choose particular court-appointed counsel and all he could demand was effective representation. It stated that both sides were entitled to a fair trial. The court decided that it would contemplate the issue and make a decision at a later hearing. On February, 23, 1998, the court decided to remove Mr. Moldof. Weaver objected. The issue in this case is whether the court's removal of Mr. Moldof was appropriate given that Weaver did not seek discharge of counsel; Weaver objected to the removal; the State did not file a motion to remove defense counsel; defense counsel did not file a motion to withdraw; and there was no conflict of interest. This Court has never addressed removal of counsel under these circumstances. [7] A court's decision involving withdrawal or discharge of counsel is subject to review for abuse of discretion. See Weems v. State, 645 So.2d 1098, 1099 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994) (stating that denial of appointed counsel's motion to withdraw will not be disturbed absent clear abuse of discretion); Sanborn v. State, 474 So.2d 309, 314 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) (same); Anderson v. State, 439 So.2d 961, 962 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983) (same). A trial court's discretion to discharge counsel without a request from either counsel or from either party is, however, narrower than the court's broad discretion to determine whether a motion to withdraw should be granted. Sanborn, 474 So.2d at 314. Therefore, we review the judge's decision in this case to determine if the judge abused this narrower scope of discretion. The general rule is that an indigent defendant has no right to choose a particular court-appointed attorney. See Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered v. United States, 491 U.S. 617, 624, 109 S.Ct. 2646, 105 L.Ed.2d 528 (1989); Capehart v. State, 583 So.2d 1009, 1014 (Fla.1991) (citing Hardwick v. State, 521 So.2d 1071, 1074 (Fla.1988)); Harold v. State, 450 So.2d 910, 913 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984) (An indigent defendant does not have the right to pick and choose the lawyer who will represent him.). Thus, if a trial court decides that court-appointed counsel is providing adequate representation, the court does not violate an indigent defendant's Sixth Amendment rights if it requires him to keep the original court-appointed lawyer or represent himself. Foster v. State, 704 So.2d 169, 172 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). While this is the general rule, other courts have held that a trial court abused its discretion or exceeded its authority in removing a defendant's court-appointed counsel and appointing other counsel over the defendant's objection. [8] Many of these cases acknowledge that an indigent defendant is not entitled to choose a particular court-appointed attorney, but reason that once counsel is appointed, an attorney-client relationship is established and is no less inviolable than if counsel had been retained by the defendant himself. McKinnon v. State, 526 P.2d 18, 24 (Alaska 1974) (holding that the trial court abused its discretion in replacing the public defender because of the trial judge's impatience with the public defender's alleged inadequate preparation and inability to proceed on the date of the scheduled court appearances); see also Stearnes v. Clinton, 780 S.W.2d 216, 223 (Tex.Crim.App.1989) (stating that the power of the trial court to appoint counsel to an indigent defendant does not carry with it the concomitant power to remove counsel at his whim). These cases reject the argument that because a defendant does not pay his fee, he has no ground to complain about his counsel's removal by the court as long as the replacement attorney handles the case competently. See Smith, 440 P.2d at 74; cf. Finkelstein v. State, 574 So.2d 1164, 1168 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991) (noting that [o]nce counsel has been chosen, whether by the court or the accused, the accused is entitled to the assistance of that counsel at trial) (quoting Harling, 387 A.2d at 1105). They reason that the attorney-client relationship is independent of the source of compensation because an attorney's responsibility is to the person he represents rather than the individual or entity paying for his services. See Smith, 440 P.2d at 74. We agree. To allow trial courts to remove an indigent defendant's court-appointed counsel with greater ease than a non-indigent defendant's retained counsel would stratify attorney-client relationships based on defendants' economic backgrounds. The right to chosen counsel, however, is not absolute. A trial judge may, in the interest of justice, substitute one counsel for another. Finkelstein, 574 So.2d at 1168. A court would be serving such an interest if it sua sponte removed counsel who was grossly incompetent, physically incapacitated, or conducting himself in an inappropriate manner that could not be cured by contempt proceedings. Id. Where the issue is not defense counsel's conduct but unexpected difficulties in his trial calendar that threaten the State's right to a fair trial, trial judges may also exercise their discretion and remove counsel over defendant's objection. Cf. United States v. Koblitz, 803 F.2d 1523, 1528 (11th Cir.1986) (suggesting that if counsel's busy trial calendar causes delay, then the State's interest in the efficient administration of justice allows a trial court to require a defendant to substitute other counsel). In announcing this rule, we emphasize the unique facts of this case. Trial judges should invoke this discretion with great circumspection and only in extraordinary circumstances. This case does present such circumstances. The court was concerned that the State's case could become weaker and harder to try with the increasing passage of time. During the February 19, 1998, hearing, Judge Speiser told the parties: THE COURT: My inclination would have to be to take Mr. Moldof off the case in view of what is expressed here today [i.e., the pending retrial in Penalver ]. This is done for purposes of the, in the Court's view, of maintaining justice in this case, and to insure this case does reach a trial date that is within some realm of reasonableness from the date this crime allegedly occurred. Mr. Moldof is placed in a situation that he's now in that is beyond his control as a result of other individuals' actions who have made, in effect, the decision for him. The court's decision to remove Mr. Moldof was based on the fact that the lengthy retrial in Penalver prevented him from dedicating the amount of time necessary to Weaver's case. The court's decision is supported by Koblitz, 803 F.2d at 1528, which suggests that continuous delays due to counsel's busy trial calendar can justify a trial court's decision to require a defendant to obtain substitute counsel. In Koblitz, the court held that the trial court violated defendant's Sixth Amendment right to choose his counsel when it instructed defendant's retained counsel, instead of the defendant, to find substitute counsel. Id. However, the court did note that the government's interest in the efficient administration of justice could require a defendant to resort to his second choice of counsel where the trial judge had granted several continuances and the original counsel continued to tell the court that he would not be ready for trial. [9] Weaver argues that a defendant has a right to have his lawyer, with whom he develops a relationship, follow the case through to conclusion. Whatever interest an indigent defendant has in maintaining and keeping the attorney-client relationship with his court-appointed counsel, however, exists alongside the State's own interest in the efficient administration of justice. Cf. Martinez v. Court of Appeal of California, 528 U.S. 152, 162, 120 S.Ct. 684, 145 L.Ed.2d 597 (2000) (explaining that the government's interest in ensuring the integrity and efficiency of the trial at times outweighs the defendant's interest in acting as his own lawyer); Allen v. Butterworth, 756 So.2d 52, 65 (Fla.2000) (noting the State's legitimate interest in the prompt and efficient administration of justice in capital cases and the capital defendant's legitimate interest in the fairness of capital postconviction process). Article I, section 2 of the Florida Constitution provides that justice shall be administered without denial or delay and [t]he State, as prosecutor, has the same right to justice without delay as any other party. State v. Antonucci, 590 So.2d 998, 1000 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991) (granting writ of certiorari and quashing trial court's sua sponte order continuing criminal case for one year or until conclusion of related civil case where the State's key witnesses were so elderly that delay would likely prejudice the State). Here, the State argued that almost two years had passed since the commission of the crime and that continuing the case further would undermine its case. The State could no longer locate several witnesses, others had faded memories, and some witnesses with direct knowledge of the case had yet to be deposed. At the time of Mr. Moldof's removal, the court had continued the case for approximately two years. It is important to note that the court's decision to remove Mr. Moldof was not done out of any animus towards the defense. In fact, the court, in granting the various continuances, acknowledged the complexity and size of the case. The court made its final decision when it was faced with the retrial in Penalver, which threatened to delay Weaver's case by another nine months. This would have meant that the trial would have occurred three years after the crime. We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in discharging counsel under the unique circumstances of this case.