The office charged with being a second tier of public criminal representation for Southwest Florida is receiving criminal cases,...the bad news:
...although it has no office space and isn’t fully staffed with attorneys.The full article is here.
More:
Last week, Lee Circuit Judge Thomas Reese appointed the Regional Conflict Counsel to represent Joshua Bauer, a 22-year-old Fort Myers man charged with murder and attempted robbery in the April killing of tire store owner Epimenio Leal.
Reese has set an April 1 court date for Bauer, who faces the death penalty.
Now Jack Flyte, the Bartow attorney appointed to head the office that will represent some indigent Southwest Florida defendants, is beginning the process of representing clients while hiring a staff and finding offices.
He said the office will be accepting cases on Nov. 1 and sent letters to chief judges along the state’s west coast asking them to hold off on appointments until then.
Lee County Facilities Director Rich Beck said the conflict counsel is set to move into a fifth-floor office of the Lee County Justice Center Annex by Nov. 1. Flyte said Lee County is the first of 14 counties to guarantee office space, which is mandated by state law.
He said the office in Fort Myers will have about 10 attorneys plus support staff. Flyte said that within two weeks he will have hired about 45 attorneys to handle the 14-county area that comprises his district.
Congratulations to Mr. Flyte and to Lee County. I think it is shrewd on his part to begin accepting appointments prior to the January 1, 2008 deadline, and wise for Lee County to step up and avoid being the reason why criminal cases stop being prosecuted.
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