Florida Supreme Court: Overburdened Public Defenders Can Stop Taking Cases

Submitted by Kevin Derby on May 23, 2013 - 12:28pm

In a 5-2 decision, the Florida Supreme Court has ruled that public defender's offices can seek permission from trial courts to stop taking on new cases, if they can demonstrate that their offices are overloaded with clients and cannot provide effective representation to new ones.

The high court's opinion was authored by Justice Peggy Quince. Chief Justice Ricky Polston and Justice Charles T. Canady dissented.

More to come ...

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