Opinion ID: 1766494
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: Facts and Procedural History in Writ Against Judge Hamilton

Text: Mark Lobdell was charged in July 2005 in the Boone County circuit court by information with the class D felony of leaving the scene of an accident. Lobdell was represented by the public defender's office and pleaded guilty to the charge. In September 2005, the circuit court suspended execution of a four-year term in prison and sentenced Lobdell to five years of probation. If he were to complete the five-year probation successfully, he would not serve prison time. A violation of probation, however, could result in the execution of his four-year prison sentence. Lobdell appeared in court, without counsel, in November 2008 after being charged with violating his probation. Lobdell applied for defender services, and District Public Defender Kevin O'Brien determined that although Lobdell was indigent, his probation violation case was within the category of cases for which the District 13 public defender office was unavailable pursuant to 18 CSR 10-4.010. As a result, respondent Judge Hamilton appointed O'Brien to represent Lobdell as a member of the local bar. The public defender filed a petition for a writ of prohibition in the court of appeals, which issued a preliminary writ prohibiting Judge Hamilton from appointing O'Brien to represent Lobdell. This Court granted transfer after opinion by the court of appeals. [33]