Court Opinion

ID: 9694756
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 17:54:01.258857+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:05.119350
License: Public Domain

SHORT, Judge
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent because there is no indication the trial court used the wrong legal standard in determining Ferris was financially ineligible for court-appointed counsel. It is undisputed Ferris did not meet the standard to be “presumed” indigent. See Minn.R.Crim.P. 5.02 cmt. (presuming a single defendant without dependents to be indigent only if weekly income amounts to less than 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage). While a defendant need not be totally without resources to be entitled to court-appointed counsel, there must be evidence that obtaining adequate representation would cause a substantial hardship to the defendant. Minn.R.Crim.P. 5.02, subd. 3.
Ferris filed an affidavit containing the facts relevant to his financial eligibility. The rules mandate consideration of relevant factors; however, there is no requirement that a trial court make findings on a defendant’s financial eligibility. See Minn.R.Crim.P. 5.02, subds. 1, 3, 4 (basic standard to apply and financial inquiry required). The record demonstrates Ferris is a single person with no dependents and with income more than sufficient to cover his identified expenses and obligations. See, e.g., State v. Lafler, 224 Neb. 613, 399 N.W.2d 808, 811 (1987) (upholding denial of appointed counsel because defendant had income and assets sufficient to secure private counsel). While Ferris produced evidence that one attorney demanded a $1,250 retainer, this demonstrates neither (1) the reasonable cost of adequate representation, nor (2) that Ferris would suffer a substantial hardship if he retained private counsel. No facts suggest the trial court failed to consider all of the relevant criteria set forth in Ferris’s affidavit. Under these circumstances, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by finding Ferris in violation of probation, revoking the original stay, and ordering Ferris to serve his sentence and pay a fine. I would affirm the probation revocation order.