White v. State, 84-1657
Decision Date | 05 February 1985 |
Docket Number | No. 84-1657,84-1657 |
Citation | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 322,464 So.2d 185 |
Parties | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 322 Elwood WHITE, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Elwood White, in pro. per.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen. and Michael J. Neimand, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and HENDRY and FERGUSON, JJ.
Appellant raises a number of issues by this pro se appeal: (1) the identification made at the scene of the crime was impermissibly suggestive, (2) the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction, (3) the admission of certain footwear into evidence was prejudicial, (4) defense counsel was not an active member of the Florida Bar at the time of trial, and (5) the assistant state attorney who signed the charging document was not qualified or authorized to do so by the State Attorney.
Appellant's first three points are totally without merit and deserve no discussion.
As his fourth point, appellant claims that because the attorney appointed by the court to represent him had been suspended from the practice of law for failure to pay bar dues, appellant was denied his sixth amendment right to counsel and the effective assistance of counsel. We treat these contentions separately.
First, we hold that the appellant was not denied his right to counsel merely because his court-appointed attorney was suspended from the practice of law in this state. While this issue is novel in the State of Florida, it has been thoroughly addressed by several courts in other jurisdictions. The decisions we have found uniformly decline to adopt a per se rule that an attorney's suspension from the practice of law gives rise to a constitutional claim of denial of the right to counsel. We align ourselves with those decisions. See, e.g., Johnson v. State, 225 Kan. 458, 590 P.2d 1082 (1979) ( ); People v. Brewer, 88 Mich.App. 756, 279 N.W.2d 307 (1979) ( ); Hill v. State, 393 S.W.2d 901 (Tex.Crim.App.1965) ( ). See also People v. Garcia, 147 Cal.App.3d 409, 195 Cal.Rptr. 138 (1983) ( ). 1 We need not, and do not, decide whether an attorney who is disbarred may be "counsel" for sixth amendment purposes.
Second, the appellant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel on this same ground may be raised for the first time only by a motion for post-conviction relief. See Williams v. State, 438 So.2d 781, 786 (Fla.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1109, 104 S.Ct. 1617, 80 L.Ed.2d 146 (1984). 2
Finally, appellant's fifth contention, a first-time challenge to the authority of the assistant state attorney, must be raised by quo warranto, and not by direct appeal. Snead v. State, 415 So.2d 887 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982).
Affirmed.
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