Opinion ID: 1917909
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 17

Heading: 111. providing counsel to indigents.

Text: (a) When Counsel Provided : A person entitled to appointment of counsel as provided herein shall have counsel appointed when he is formally charged with an offense, or as soon as feasible after custodial restraint or upon his first appearance before a committing magistrate, whichever occurs earliest. (b) Cases Applicable : (1) Counsel shall be provided to indigent persons in all prosecutions for offenses punishable by imprisonment (or by incarceration in a juvenile corrections institution) including appeals from the conviction thereof. Counsel does not have to be provided to an indigent person in a prosecution for a misdemeanor or violation of a municipal ordinance if the judge, prior to trial, files in the cause a statement in writing that the defendant will not be imprisoned in the event he is convicted. (2) Counsel may be provided to indigent persons in all proceedings arising from the initiation of a criminal action against a defendant, including postconviction proceedings and appeals therefrom, extradition proceedings, mental competency proceedings, and other proceedings which are adversary in nature, regardless of the designation of the court in which they occur or the classification of the proceedings as civil or criminal. (3) Counsel may be provided to a partially indigent person upon his request provided that person shall defray that portion of the cost of such representation and the reasonable costs of investigation as he is able to without substantial hardship to himself or his family, as directed by the court. (4) Indigent as used herein shall mean a person who is unable to pay for the services of an attorney, including costs of investigation, without substantial hardship to himself or his family; partially indigent as used herein shall mean a person unable to pay more than a portion of the fee charged by an attorney, including costs of investigation, without substantial hardship to himself or his family. (c) Duty of Booking Officer : In addition to any other duty, the officer who commits a defendant to custody has the following duties: (1) He shall immediately advise the defendant: (i) of his right to counsel; (ii) that if the defendant is unable to pay a lawyer, one will be provided immediately at no charge. (2) If the defendant requests counsel or advises the officer he cannot afford counsel, said officer shall immediately and effectively place said defendant in communication with the (office of) Public Defender of the circuit in which the arrest was made. (3) If the defendant indicates he has an attorney or is able to retain an attorney, the officer shall immediately and effectively place said defendant in communication with his attorney or the Lawyer Referral Service of the local bar association. (4) The Public Defender of each Judicial Circuit may upon being contacted by, or on behalf of a defendant who is, or represents himself to be indigent as defined by law, forthwith interview said defendant and (i) If the defendant is in custody and reasonably appears to be indigent, the Public Defender shall tender to him such advice as is indicated by the facts of the case; seek the seting of a reasonable bail and otherwise represent such defendant pending a formal judicial determination of indigency. (ii) If the defendant is at liberty on bail or otherwise not in custody, the Public Defender shall elicit only such information from the defendant as may be reasonably relevant to the question of indigency and shall immediately seek a formal judicial determination of indigency. If the court finds the defendant indigent, it shall immediately appoint counsel to represent said defendant. (d) Waiver of Counsel : (1) The failure of a defendant to request appointment of counsel or his announced intention to plead guilty shall not, in itself, constitute a waiver of counsel at any stage of the proceedings. (2) A defendant shall not be deemed to have waived the assistance of counsel until the entire process of offering counsel has been completed and a thorough inquiry into accused's comprehension of that offer and his capacity to make that choice intelligently and understandingly has been made. (3) No waiver shall be accepted where it appears that the defendant is unable to make an intelligent and understanding choice because of his mental condition, age, education, experience, the nature or complexity of the case, or other factors. (4) A waiver of counsel made in court shall be of record; a waiver made out of court shall be in writing with not less than two attesting witnesses. Said witnesses shall attest the voluntary execution thereof. (5) If a waiver is accepted at any stage of the proceedings, the offer of assistance of counsel shall be renewed by the court at each subsequent stage of the proceedings at which the defendant appears without counsel. Committee Note : 3.111. Part 1 of the ABA Standard relating to Providing Defense Services deals with the general philosophy for providing criminal defense services and while the committee felt that the philosophy should apply to the Florida Rules of Procedure, the standards were not in such form to be the subject of that particular rule. Since the standards deal with the national situation, contained in them were alternative methods of providing defense services, i.e., assigned counsel vs. defender system; but, Florida, already having a defender system, need not be concerned with the assigned counsel system. (a) Taken from the first sentence of ABA Standard 5.1. There was considerable discussion within the committee concerning the time when counsel should be appointed and who should notify defendant's counsel. The commentary in the ABA Standard under 5.1a,b, convinced the committee to the language here contained. (b) Standard 4.1 provides that counsel should be provided in all criminal cases punishable by loss of liberty, except those types where such punishment is not likely to be imposed. The committee determined that the philosophy of such Standard should be recommended to the Florida Supreme Court. The committee determined that possible deprivation of liberty for any period makes a case serious enough that the accused should have the right to counsel. (c) Based upon recommendation of ABA Standard 5.1b and the commentary thereunder which provides that implementation of a rule for providing the defendant with counsel should not be limited to providing a means for the accused himself to contact a lawyer. (d) From Standard 7.2 and the commentaries thereunder.