Orange County v. Corchado

679 So. 2d 297, 1996 Fla. App. LEXIS 8299, 1996 WL 446512
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedAugust 9, 1996
Docket95-1957
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 679 So. 2d 297 (Orange County v. Corchado) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Orange County v. Corchado, 679 So. 2d 297, 1996 Fla. App. LEXIS 8299, 1996 WL 446512 (Fla. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

679 So.2d 297 (1996)

ORANGE COUNTY, etc., Appellant,
v.
Francisco CORCHADO, Appellee.

No. 95-1957.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

August 9, 1996.
Rehearing Denied September 20, 1996.

*298 George L. Dorsett, Assistant County Attorney, Orange County Attorney's Office, Orlando, for Appellant.

F. Wesley Blankner, Jr. of Jaeger and Blankner, Orlando, for Appellee.

GOSHORN, Judge.

Orange County appeals the trial court's nonfinal[1] order that appoints Jeffrey Deen as co-counsel to assist in representing Francisco Corchado in a first degree murder case and requires Orange County to pay Deen for his services.[2] Among other things, Orange County asserts that the trial court erred in (1) ordering it to compensate Deen; and (2) declaring that appointment is required on a per se basis in all capital cases. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for an evidentiary hearing.[3]

Corchado is the defendant in a first degree murder and armed robbery trial being held in Orange County, Florida. Originally, there were two other defendants being tried with Corchado, Alex Pagen and Antonio Alamo Clemente. Pagen obtained private counsel and is no longer in the case. Clemente was appointed a public defender and thereafter, sought additional, bilingual counsel because Clemente did not speak English and his inability to communicate with his initially appointed attorney hindered the attorney's ability to represent him efficiently.[4]

The trial court appointed Wesley Blankner *299 to represent Corchado.[5] Blankner sought and was awarded a continuance because the State of Florida was seeking the death penalty, and additional discovery was required. Thereafter, Blankner filed a motion to appoint co-counsel, stating that he had discussed the matter with Deen, who was representing Corchado in other pending actions, and that Deen was willing to serve. Blankner also noted that Deen's knowledge of Corchado would assist him in obtaining the best possible defense for Corchado in the death penalty case and that it was not unusual for courts to appoint additional counsel in capital cases. That same day, the trial court entered an order appointing Deen as co-counsel to assist Blankner in representing Corchado. The order also stated that Orange County would be required to pay Deen at the standard rate for court-appointed counsel.

Apparently unaware that the trial court had ruled, Orange County filed a response in opposition to Corchado's motion to appoint co-counsel. At a hearing set by the trial court to consider Orange County's response, the court held that it would require Orange County to pay for both counsel if, following the case, Deen and Blankner submitted a fair and adequate bill. The court minutes created after the hearing state that the trial court's previous order appointing Deen would remain in effect. This appeal followed.

Subsection 925.035(1), Florida Statutes (1995) permits trial courts to appoint a public defender for indigent criminal defendants in capital cases. It further provides:

If the public defender appointed to represent two or more defendants found to be insolvent determines that neither he nor his staff can counsel all of the accused without conflict of interest, it shall be his duty to move the court to appoint one or more members of The Florida Bar, who are in no way affiliated with the public defender in his capacity as such or in his private practice, to represent the accused. The attorney shall be allowed compensation, as provided for in s. 925.036 for representing a defendant.

§ 925.035(1), Fla. Stat. (1995). Likewise, subsection 27.53(3), Florida Statutes (1995) states:

(3) If at any time during the representation of two or more indigents the public defender shall determine that the interests of those accused are so adverse or hostile that they cannot all be counseled by the public defender or his or her staff without conflict of interest, or that none can be counseled by the public defender or his or her staff because of conflict of interest, it shall be the public defender's duty to move the court to appoint other counsel. The court may appoint one or more members of The Florida Bar, who are in no way affiliated with the public defender, in his or her capacity as such, or in his or her private practice, to represent those accused....

(Emphasis supplied).

Section 925.036 provides the method by which the court may compensate a private attorney who is appointed under sections 925.035 or 27.53. It states in relevant part:

(1) An attorney appointed pursuant to s. 925.035 or s. 27.53 shall, at the conclusion of the representation, be compensated at an hourly rate fixed by the chief judge or senior judge of the circuit in an amount not to exceed the prevailing hourly rate for similar representation rendered in the circuit; however, such compensation shall not exceed the maximum fee limits established by this section....
(2) The compensation for representation shall not exceed the following:
* * * * * *
(d) For capital cases represented at the trial level: $3,500.

§ 925.036, Fla. Stat. (1995).

While the Florida Supreme Court has refused to declare section 925.036 unconstitutional on its face, it has held that "statutory maximum fees, as inflexibly imposed in cases *300 involving unusual or extraordinary circumstances, interfere with the defendant's sixth amendment right `to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.'" Makemson v. Martin County, 491 So.2d 1109, 1112 (Fla. 1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1043, 107 S.Ct. 908, 93 L.Ed.2d 857 (1987). In Makemson, private counsel was appointed pursuant to section 925.036, Florida Statutes (1981), to represent an indigent defendant in a capital murder trial. The case had received substantial pretrial publicity and was moved to Lake County, approximately 150 miles from the attorney's home. Following the trial, the attorney requested compensation from Martin County for 248.3 hours spent working on the case. Although an expert testified that the minimum value of the attorney's services was $25,000, the attorney requested and received $9,500, $6,000 above the statutory maximum. The trial court also awarded $4,500 to compensate the attorney for his services during the defendant's appeal, although the statute provided for only $2,000 to be awarded "at the conclusion of the representation." Id. at 1111 (citing § 925.036(1), Fla. Stat. (1985)). The trial court further held that the maximum fee statute was unconstitutional because it was "an impermissible legislative intrusion upon an inherent judicial function." Id. The Fourth District quashed the trial court's declaration of unconstitutionality but certified four questions to the Florida Supreme Court. Id. at 1112.[6] The supreme court exercised its inherent power and interpreted the statute as directory, rather than mandatory, and awarded attorney's fees in excess of the $3,500 cap because it found that "the facts were sufficiently `extraordinary' to warrant" it. Id. at 1113.

In the present case, Orange County makes a distinction between the appointment of counsel and the requirement that Orange County compensate the attorney appointed.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
679 So. 2d 297, 1996 Fla. App. LEXIS 8299, 1996 WL 446512, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/orange-county-v-corchado-fladistctapp-1996.