State v. Hicks
| Decision Date | 23 May 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. 65495,65495 |
| Parties | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 292, 10 Fla. L. Weekly 578 STATE of Florida, Petitioner, v. Carl Lee HICKS, Respondent. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen. and Carolyn V. McCann, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for petitioner.
Richard L. Jorandby, Public Defender and Margaret Good, Asst. Public Defender, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, West Palm Beach, for respondent.
Enoch J. Whitney, Gen. Counsel, Tallahassee, amicus curiae for Florida Parole and Probation Com'n.
We accepted jurisdiction of Hicks v. State, 452 So.2d 606 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984), because of conflict with Sanderson v. State, 447 So.2d 374 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(3), Florida Constitution, and we approve Hicks.
The issue in this case is whether a person subject to probation revocation has an absolute right to counsel in such a proceeding, and, if so, whether the right must be afforded him before he is required to admit or deny the revocation charges. We hold that unless there has been an informed waiver thereof such a person is entitled to counsel, and it must be afforded him before he is required to respond in any manner to the revocation charges.
We note at the outset that there is no constitutional requirement for the appointment of counsel in all probation revocation hearings. Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778, 93 S.Ct. 1756, 36 L.Ed.2d 656 (1973). We predicate our decision here on the ground that a uniform rule in all probation revocation hearings is more easily understood and easier to administer than requiring attorneys in some cases but not in others. We do not believe that a uniform requirement will unduly tax the resources of the public defender system; we believe it will result in a more orderly and uniform administration of the criminal justice system. * Judge Downey, writing for the district court, has cogently stated reasons to adopt the ruling we make. We doubt that we could improve upon his opinion and The opinion of the district court of appeal is approved.
therefore adopt it as the opinion of this Court.
It is so ordered.
ON REHEARING
On rehearing we are asked to decide whether this decision, which related to a probation violation, is also applicable to a parole violation hearing. We should not address on rehearing an issue that was not presented, essential, or directly germane to the case under review and therefore decline to decide the applicability of our holding to parole...
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Peters v. State
...Probation is under the jurisdiction of the courts, and it was in the exercise of our authority over the court system that we determined in Hicks that counsel must be furnished in all probation revocation hearings. Parole is administered by the [Parole] Commission. Moreover, parole revocatio......
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Shields v. State
...error is reviewable in an appeal from a revocation order (citing Green v. State, 463 So. 2d 1139, 1140 (Fla. 1985) )); State v. Hicks, 478 So. 2d 22, 23 n.* (Fla. 2d DCA 1985) (noting that "a probation revocation usually leads to sentencing" and that "an attorney is required at a sentencing......
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Applicant v. Sec'y
...cert. denied, 547 U.S. 1005 (2006). Although he had a state-created right to counsel at his revocation proceeding, State v. Hicks, 478 So. 2d 22, 23-24 (Fla. 1985), Martin's alleged denial of effective counsel under Florida law presents no cognizable claim for federal habeas relief. Alterna......
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Pearl v. State, 98-80.
...§ 7-6-104(a).5 Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-6-104(c) (Lexis 1999). See Hicks v. State, 452 So.2d 606, 608 (Fla.App.1984) opinion adopted 478 So.2d 22, 23-24 (Fla.1985). An inescapable corollary to such a holding is the invalidation of W.R.Cr.P. 44(a)(2), in the context of judicial revocations. Our h......