Opinion ID: 1088668
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The System of Court-Appointed Counsel Under Chapter 2007-62

Text: Chapter 2007-62 revised the system of court-appointed representation contained in chapter 27, Part III of the Florida Statutes, which deals with Public Defenders and Other Court-Appointed Counsel. [6] The Legislature's intent in revising the system was clearly expressed as follows: (1) The Legislature finds that the creation of offices of criminal conflict and civil regional counsel and the other provisions of this act are necessary and best steps toward enhancing the publicly funded provision of legal representation and other due process services under constitutional and statutory principles in a fiscally responsible and effective manner. (2) It is the intent of the Legislature to facilitate the orderly transition to the creation and operation of the offices of criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, as provided in this act, in order to enhance and fiscally support the system of court-appointed representation for eligible individuals in criminal and civil proceedings. To that end, the Legislature intends that the five criminal conflict and civil regional counsel be appointed as soon as practicable after this act becomes law, to assume a term beginning on July 1, 2007. . . . The Justice Administrative Commission shall assist the regional counsel as necessary in establishing their offices. In addition, it is the intent of the Legislature that the various agencies and organizations that comprise the state judicial system also assist with the transition from current law to the creation and operation of the regional offices. Ch.2007-62, § 31(1)-(2), Laws of Fla. Consistent with this intent, the Legislature amended section 27.40, which details the process by which indigent persons are appointed counsel, as follows: 27.40 Court-appointed counsel; circuit registries; minimum requirements; appointment by court.  (1) Counsel shall be appointed to represent any individual in a criminal or civil proceeding entitled to court-appointed counsel under the Federal or State Constitution or as authorized by general law. The court shall appoint a public defender to represent indigent persons as authorized in s. 27.51. The office of criminal conflict and civil regional counsel shall be appointed to represent persons in those cases in which provision is made for court-appointed counsel but the public defender is unable to provide representation due to a conflict of interest or is not authorized to provide representation. (2)(a) Private counsel shall be appointed to represent persons indigents in those cases in which provision is made for court-appointed counsel but the office of criminal conflict and civil regional counsel public defender is unable to provide representation due to a conflict of interest or is not authorized to provide representation. (b)(2) Private counsel appointed by the court to provide representation shall be selected from a registry of individual attorneys maintained under this section established by the circuit Article V indigent services committee or procured through a competitive bidding process. Ch.2007-62, § 1, Laws of Fla. (revisions shown in underline and strike-through). As is evident from this provision, the Legislature continues to rely, first and foremost, on the public defenders to provide court-appointed counsel to indigent persons in criminal and civil proceedings. It is only when a public defender is unable to provide representation because of a conflict of interest or is not authorized to provide representation that a regional counsel office is appointed in its place. Id. Furthermore, the Legislature maintains the registry system whereby private counsel are appointed in cases in which neither the public defender nor a regional counsel can provide representation. Id. [7] Beyond the process by which counsel is appointed to represent indigent persons, we also examine the provisions concerning the duties of both the public defender and the OCCCRC. This is because a comparison of the duties of each entity is directly relevant to determining whether the OCCCRC are in fact public defenders. As to the duties of the public defender, section 27.51, Florida Statutes (2007) (entitled Duties of the public defender), requires that it provide representation to any indigent person who is (1) under arrest for or charged with a felony, a misdemeanor authorized to be prosecuted by the state attorney, violations of chapter 316 punishable by imprisonment, criminal contempt, a violation of a local ordinance if the county has contracted with the public defender and the accused is subject to imprisonment upon conviction; (2) alleged to be a delinquent child pursuant to a petition filed in circuit court; (3) sought by petition to be involuntarily committed for mental illness under chapter 394, as a sexually violent predator under chapter 394, or to residential services as a person with developmental disabilities under chapter 393; (4) appealing a conviction and sentence of death to this Court on direct appeal; or (5) appealing a matter in any of the preceding situations. See id. § 27.51(1), Fla. Stat. Similarly, the OCCCRC are required to provide representation to indigent defendants in exactly the same types of criminal cases as the public defender. See § 27.511(5), Fla. Stat. (2007). However, though the types of criminal cases handled may be the same, the fact that the OCCCRC only step in when the public defender has a conflict is key to our determination that the OCCCRC are not in fact public defenders. We will now endeavor to explain why we reach this conclusion.