Hawkins v. State
| Decision Date | 15 March 1966 |
| Docket Number | G-429,Nos. G-425,s. G-425 |
| Parties | Fred HAWKINS, Jerome Wilkerson, Joe Lewis Young, and Ronald Von Taylor, Appellants, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. Fred HAWKINS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. Jerome WILKERSON, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. Joe Lewis YOUNG, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. Ronald VON TAYLOR, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. to |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Robert P. Miller, Asst. Public Defender, for appellants.
Earl Faircloth, Atty. Gen., and William D. Roth, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Appellants by this appeal from a judgment of conviction of breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony urge that the trial court's refusal to grant their attorney's motion for continuance was an abuse of judicial discretion and error. We agree and reverse.
On January 29, 1965 the trial court, having been informed of the withdrawal of appellants' initial attorneys, appointed the Public Defender to represent appellants who were arraigned on said date. The trial was set for March 1, 1965, and for some reason not disclosed by the record, trial was commenced on March 4, 1965. On March 3, 1965, the Public Defender, during the recess of another criminal trial, requested a continuance in this cause by oral motion. This motion was reduced to writing by the Public Defender and filed immediately prior to trial on March 4, 1965. The subject motion alleged that the defendants, Fred Hawkins and Jerome Wilkerson, were removed from Volusia County to Raiford prison immediately after arraignment without the Public Defender having an opportunity to counsel with them, and that they remained there until the late hours of the night Tuesday, March 2nd, or the early hours of Wednesday, March 3, 1965. It further alleged that the Defendant Ronald Von Taylor after arraignment on January 29, 1965 was removed from Volusia County and 'incarcerated obstensibly in the Orange County jail and has not even yet been returned to Volusia County, Florida.' (It appears that these defendants were respectively serving sentences in Raiford and Orange County.) Other allegations in the motion for continuance stated that during the entire month of February, 1965 the Public Defender had been engaged with criminal arraignments, sentences and trials and that it was impossible for him to travel to Raiford to confer with his clients. In arguing the motion, the Public Defender stated that at the time the defendants were arraigned on January 29, 1965, he was engaged in arraignments of some 40 or 50 other defendants and that he had not seen these defendants before that time and had not seen them since; that Hawkins and Wilkerson were brought back on Tuesday (March 2nd), or the early hours of Wednesday (March 3rd); that he was in trial all day Wednesday; that it was only until late yesterday (the day before trial) that he was even able to talk to them; and that he didn't know what defense they would offer and was unable to subpoena witnesses if any be required. He further stated that he had not possessed the facilities or the time to go to Raiford and confer with these defendants prior to this date and in effect that he was not prepared to go to trial. The Public Defender pointed out that the court had a light calendar the following week in that four days would probably be free and unhampered and if the court would continue this case until the following week, in his opinion, he would have adequate time...
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Loren v. State, BD-485
...1st DCA 1981); Lightsey v. State, 364 So.2d 72 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978); Sumbry v. State, 310 So.2d 445 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975); Hawkins v. State, 184 So.2d 486 (Fla. 1st DCA 1966), neither these nor other decisions brought to our attention address facts similar to those present in the case before us.......
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Caplinger v. State, 72--336
...was obtained by virtue of incompetent counsel an accused must show that his trial was a farce, sham or mockery. Hawkins v. State, Fla.App.1966, 184 So.2d 486; Simpson v. State, Fla.App.1964, 164 So.2d 224. A trial will not be viewed as a sham or mockery on the basis of the time the public d......
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State v. Forsness, 12141
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Kimbrough v. State
...DCA 1970). Nevertheless the reasonableness of the time of appointment must be taken into consideration. We stated in Hawkins v. State, 184 So.2d 486 (Fla. 1st DCA 1966), that even though counsel had been appointed to represent defendants more than one month prior to trial, because the defen......