Supreme Court Asked to Hear Miami Public Defender Case
by Kemp Brinson
The ruling I reported on earlier that allows the public defender in Miami not to accect cases due to budget cuts was stayed pending resolution by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. The 3rd Distrct Court of Appeals has now asked the Florida Supreme Court to rule on the matter. Under Florida’s Constitution, a matter can go straight from the trial court to the state Supreme Court if it is:
“certified by the district court of appeal in which an appeal is pending to be of great public importance, or to have a great effect on the proper administration of justice throughout the state, and certified to require immediate resolution by the supreme court.” Fla. Const. Art. V sec. 3(b)(5)
I am very interested in how this one plays out, and hope to post an analysis of the issues involved soon.
