Legal Research

In 2007, the Florida Legislature passed a bill which cut fees for private attorneys who take cases when public defenders have conflicts.  The bill set the fee at a flat rate of $2500, but allowed a payment of $75 an hour in exceptional circumstances.  The result was a mass exodus of private attorneys from the conflict registry.  Twelfth Circuit Chief Judge Haworth, in Manatee County, unable to provide private conflict counsel for all 26 defendants in two RICO cases, took matters into his own hands by creating an "Involuntary Appointment List," which lead to the involuntary appointment of sole practitioner Gregory Hagopian to represent a defendant in the complex litigation.  Hagopian claims that to competently represent his unwanted client, he would have to essentially shut down the rest of his practice.  This, he says , means that he has an inherent conflict of interest with that client, which will deprive the client of his Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of counsel.  Haworth has denied Hagopian's motion to withdraw as counsel, and Hagopian has appealed the decision to the Second DCA.  Disturbed by the constitutional implications of unwilling counsel the Florida Chapter of the ACLU has filed an amicus brief.  See the entire story in The Florida Bar News/November 15, 2008