On Point blog, page 1 of 1
SCOW refuses to decide whether county must appoint counsel when SPD can’t
State v. Nhia Lee, 2019AP221-CR, petition dismissed as improvidently granted, 5/24/22; case activity (including briefs)
SCOW presumably took this case in order to address one or both of these issues: (1) whether a circuit court must appoint counsel at the county’s expense when the SPD is unable to do so within 10 days of the defendant’s initial appearance; and (2) whether Lee was denied the right to counsel, due process and a speedy trial as he sat in jail for over 100 days waiting for a lawyer. After briefing and oral argument, 5 justices voted to dismiss his petition as improvidently granted.
SCOW to review whether the county must appoint counsel when SPD can’t
State v. Nhia Lee, 2019AP221-CR, petition for review granted 5/19/21; case activity (including briefs)
Issues:
Whether a circuit court is required to appoint counsel at the county’s expense when the SPD is unable to do so within 10 days of the defendant’s initial appearance?
Whether Lee’s rights to due process, to counsel, and to a speedy trial were violated by his protracted pretrial confinement as he waited for the State Public Defender to find counsel for him.
Charges dismissed due to delay in appointing counsel
State v. Nhia Lee, 2021 WI App 12, case activity (including briefs)
This is an important decision for areas of Wisconsin where there is a shortage of defense lawyers. In 2018, when the private bar rate was $40, Lee was charged with felonies in Marathon County and then held for 101 days without counsel while the SPD contacted over 100 attorneys to take his case. Meanwhile, the circuit court repeatedly extended the 10-day deadline for holding a preliminary hearing. He finally got one 113 days after his initial appearance. In a decision recommended for publication, the court of appeals held that the circuit court failed to establish it had good cause to extend the 10-day deadline. It also sets forth factors circuit courts should consider in future cases involving delay in the appointment of counsel for a preliminary hearing.
No-Merit Report – Counsel Appointed by Circuit Court Rather Than SPD
State v. Carl Davis Brown, Jr., 2009 WI App 169
For Brown: Paul G. Bonneson
For SPD: Colleen D. Ball, Milwaukee Appellate
Issue/Holding:
¶7 The statutes referenced in Wis. Stat. Rule 809.32(1)(a), relate to the appointment of counsel by the state public defender. Thus, pursuant to Rule 809.32(1)(a), an attorney appointed by the state public defender may file a no-merit report using the statutory scheme set out in Rule 809.32.
Counsel – Right to – Inherent Judicial Authority – Defendant’s Burden of Proof
State v. Alvernest Floyd Kennedy, 2008 WI App 186
Pro se
Issue/Holding: Defendant did not satisfy his burden of proving indigency, for purposes of invoking inherent judicial authority to appoint counsel, where he failed to submit information regarding attempts to retain counsel as well as information relative to rental property, ¶18.
Right to Counsel – Inherent Judicial Authority to Appoint – Indigency Determination – Use of Federal Poverty Guidelines
State v. Jose Nieves-Gonzalez, 2001 WI App 90, 242 Wis. 2d 782, 625 N.W.2d 913
Issue: Whether the trial court incorrectly applied federal poverty guidelines in refusing to appoint counsel at county expense, after the defendant failed to qualify under public defender standards.
Holding: Although federal poverty guidelines are not necessarily conclusive, they should be used “as a proper consideration for court-appointed counsel,” ¶8. Here, the court considered these guidelines in denying the defendant’s request for counsel without a hearing,
Right to Counsel – Judicial Appointment, Discretion to Continue on Appeal
Juneau County DHS v. James B., 2000 WI App 86, 234 Wis. 2d 406, 610 N.W.2d 144
For Appellant; James L. Boardman; Chris R. Velnetske
Issue: Whether judicial appointment of counsel in a CHIPS case necessarily terminates after disposition, or may be continued for appeal.
Holding: Judicial appointment of counsel in a CHIPS case doesn’t automatically terminate upon disposition, the circuit court retaining authority to continue the appointment for purposes of appeal.
Right to Counsel – Judicial Appointment – Continuation on Appeal
In re Paternity of Roberta Jo W.: Roberta Jo W. v. Leroy W., 218 Wis.2d 225, 578 N.W.2d 185 (1998), on certification.
Holding:
The second issue is whether the circuit court erred in terminating court-appointed counsel upon the filing of a notice of appeal. We hold that after a notice of appeal was filed, the case was within the jurisdiction of the court of appeals,