Mario Thomas v. the State of Florida

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: February 19, 2025
• Docket: 3D2023-0295
• Status: Published

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed February 19, 2025. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D23-295 Lower Tribunal Nos. F14-20850, F15-24220, F15-24221, F15-24222, F15-24223, F15-24224, F15-24225, F15-24239, F15-24518, F15-24519 ________________

Mario Thomas, Appellant,

vs.

The State of Florida, Appellee.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Ramiro C. Areces, Judge.

Carlos J. Martinez, Public Defender and Deborah Prager, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General and Yolande M. Samerson, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before LOGUE, C.J., and LOBREE and GOODEN, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Affirmed. See Lelieve v. State, 7 So. 3d 624, 629 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009) (defendant not entitled to reversal where request for new private counsel was

denied on heels of denial of request for continuance made only for purpose

of delaying trial); Wade v. State, 30 So. 3d 640, 643 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)

(concluding no “palpable abuse of judicial discretion” shown where defense

had three prior continuances and court was not alerted that defendant

wished to substitute his counsel until morning of trial); see also Hurtado v.

State, 760 So. 2d 279, 280 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) (trial court did not abuse

discretion in denying request for new counsel on grounds that “[defendant’s]

request was made in bad faith and for the sake of arbitrary delay”).