R.R. v. State
Decision Date | 25 May 2007 |
Docket Number | No. 5D05-3526.,5D05-3526. |
Citation | 956 So.2d 557 |
Parties | R.R., a Child, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
James S. Purdy, Public Defender, and Tomislav David Golik, Assistant Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for Appellant.
Bill McCollum, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Ann M. Phillips, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.
R.R. appeals the order establishing $1000 as the amount of the public defender lien for legal services rendered.1 The court established that amount in accordance with section 27.5304(3), Florida Statutes, which sets $1000 as the maximum fee for court-appointed counsel in juvenile cases. R.R. contends, and we think rightly so, that because no inquiry was made as to the attorney's hourly rate or amount of time spent on the case, the lien is improper.
The Legislature has bestowed upon the courts the responsibility to determine the value of services rendered by a public defender to a criminal defendant. See § 938.29(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2007) () ; § 938.29(5), Fla. Stat. (2007) (). The amount of the obligation cannot be based on an arbitrary figure; rather, it must be supported by an adequate factual basis. See Rivers v. State, 677 So.2d 53 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996); Swift v. State, 638 So.2d 193, 193 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994) () ; see also Q.E.L. v. State, 700 So.2d 86 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997); Hankerson v. State, 464 So.2d 700 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). This generally requires that the amount of the lien be established by applying a reasonable hourly rate to the time the attorney spent on the case. Gonse v. State, 713 So.2d 1114, 1115 (Fla.2d DCA 1998) (); Gilchrist v. State, 674 So.2d 847, 848 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996) (). Otherwise, the amount of the lien is arbitrary and the order must be reversed and remanded for a new disposition hearing.
In this case, there was no evidence introduced to establish a reasonable hourly rate or the time spent on the case by R.R.'s public defender. Accordingly, the public defender lien is stricken and the cause is remanded for an appropriate hearing at which the trial court can properly determine the amount. See Fleming v. State, ...
To continue reading
Request your trial