6 weeks with no attorney

Will Florida appellate courts be facing a flood of ineffective assistance of counsel claims soon?

Crime doesn't pay, and defending accused criminals doesn't either.

Defense attorneys are huddling to come up with a plan to defend reputed gang members accused of breaking federal racketeering laws after learning Thursday at least two will be appointed to the expensive cases while being paid only $2,000 by the state.

Two reputed gang members - Genaro "Nightmare" Agustin and Mario "Sleepy" Contreras - have been in jail for about six weeks with no attorney...
Defense attorney Mark Lipinski, who turned down a racketeering case against an alleged gang member, said the discovery alone he was presented with weighed 40 pounds and included 150 witnesses. He said the cases, on average, consume 500 to 600 hours and 18 months. Haworth concurred, stating that photocopying alone will exceed the $2,000 pay rate the state will pay to whomever takes the case.