27.40 Court-appointed counsel; circuit registries; minimum requirements; appointment by court.— 1(1) Counsel shall be appointed to represent any individual in a criminal or civil proceeding entitled to court-appointed counsel under the Federal or State Constitution or as authorized by general law. The court shall appoint a public defender to represent indigent persons as authorized in s. 27.51. […]
27.405 Court-appointed counsel; Justice Administrative Commission tracking and reporting.— (1) The Justice Administrative Commission shall separately track expenditures and performance measures for private court-appointed counsel for each of the categories of criminal or civil cases in which private counsel may be appointed. (2) The commission shall prepare and issue on a quarterly basis a statewide report comparing actual […]
27.425 Due process service rates; expenditure limitation; approval of uniform contract forms and procedures.— (1) The maximum compensation rates for state-funded due process service providers in cases in which the court has appointed private counsel or declared a person indigent for costs shall be specified annually in the General Appropriations Act. For purposes of this section, due […]
27.50 Public defender; qualifications; election.—For each judicial circuit, there shall be a public defender who shall be, and shall have been for the preceding 5 years, a member in good standing of The Florida Bar. The public defender shall be elected at the general election, for a term of 4 years, by the qualified electors of […]
27.51 Duties of public defender.— (1) The public defender shall represent, without additional compensation, any person determined to be indigent under s. 27.52 and: (a) Under arrest for, or charged with, a felony; (b) Under arrest for, or charged with: 1. A misdemeanor authorized for prosecution by the state attorney; 2. A violation of chapter 316 punishable by imprisonment; 3. Criminal contempt; […]
27.511 Offices of criminal conflict and civil regional counsel; legislative intent; qualifications; appointment; duties.— (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide adequate representation to persons entitled to court-appointed counsel under the Federal or State Constitution or as authorized by general law. It is the further intent of the Legislature to provide adequate representation in […]
27.5111 Indigent Civil Defense Trust Fund.—The Indigent Civil Defense Trust Fund is created within the Justice Administrative Commission. Moneys credited to the trust fund shall be used for the purpose of funding the activities of the offices of criminal conflict and civil regional counsel as provided in s. 27.511. History.—s. 1, ch. 2008-110; s. 2, ch. […]
27.5112 Electronic filing and receipt of court documents.— (1)(a) Each office of the public defender shall electronically file court documents with the clerk of the court and receive court documents from the clerk of the court. It is the expectation of the Legislature that the electronic filing and receipt of court documents will reduce costs for the […]
27.512 Order of no imprisonment.— (1) In each case in which the court determines that it will not sentence the defendant to imprisonment if convicted, the court shall issue an order of no imprisonment and the court may not appoint the public defender or other counsel to represent the defendant. If the court issues an order of […]
27.52 Determination of indigent status.— (1) APPLICATION TO THE CLERK.—A person seeking appointment of a public defender under s. 27.51 based upon an inability to pay must apply to the clerk of the court for a determination of indigent status using an application form developed by the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation with final approval by […]
27.525 Indigent Criminal Defense Trust Fund.—The Indigent Criminal Defense Trust Fund is created, to be administered by the Justice Administrative Commission. Funds shall be credited to the trust fund as provided in s. 27.52, to be used for the purposes of indigent criminal defense as appropriated by the Legislature to the public defender or the office […]
27.53 Appointment of assistants and other staff; method of payment.— (1) The public defender of each judicial circuit is authorized to employ and establish, in such numbers as authorized by the General Appropriations Act, assistant public defenders and other staff and personnel pursuant to s. 29.006, who shall be paid from funds appropriated for that purpose. Notwithstanding […]
27.5301 Salaries of public defenders, assistant public defenders, criminal conflict and civil regional counsel, and assistant regional counsel.— (1) The salaries of public defenders shall be as provided in the General Appropriations Act and shall be paid in equal monthly installments. (2) The salary for each assistant public defender shall be set by the public defender of the […]
27.5302 Salary discrimination based on gender or race; review within the office of public defender.—Each public defender shall undertake an annual review of compensation policies for the position of assistant public defender. Within the context of comparable skills, experience, and responsibility, any inequities found to exist on the basis of gender or race shall be eliminated. […]
27.5303 Public defenders; criminal conflict and civil regional counsel; conflict of interest.— (1)(a) If, at any time during the representation of two or more defendants, a public defender determines that the interests of those accused are so adverse or hostile that they cannot all be counseled by the public defender or his or her staff without conflict […]
27.5304 Private court-appointed counsel; compensation; notice.— 1(1) Private court-appointed counsel appointed in the manner prescribed in s. 27.40(1) and (2)(a) shall be compensated by the Justice Administrative Commission only as provided in this section and the General Appropriations Act. The flat fees prescribed in this section are limitations on compensation. The specific flat fee amounts for compensation […]
27.5305 Attorney or provider compensation; conditions; requirements.—This section applies to the payment by the state through the Justice Administrative Commission of legal fees and due process costs in an eligible criminal or civil matter when a person receives the services of a private court-appointed attorney or is declared indigent for costs. (1) ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER.— (a) A person […]
27.54 Limitation on payment of expenditures other than by the state.— (1) All payments for the salary of the public defender and the criminal conflict and civil regional counsel and for the necessary expenses of office, including salaries of assistants and staff, shall be considered as being for a valid public purpose. Travel expenses shall be paid […]
27.561 Effect of nonpayment.— (1) Whenever a defendant-recipient or parent is ordered to pay attorney’s fees or costs, default in the payment thereof shall be cause for finding the defendant-recipient or parent in contempt of court, and the court may issue a show cause citation or a warrant of arrest for the defendant-recipient’s or parent’s appearance. (2) Unless […]
27.562 Disposition of funds.—All funds collected pursuant to s. 938.29 shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Indigent Criminal Defense Trust Fund administered by the Justice Administrative Commission pursuant to s. 27.525. The Justice Administrative Commission shall account for funds deposited into the Indigent Criminal Defense Trust Fund by circuit. Appropriations […]
