Supreme Court of Florida

Second District's conclusion that the defendant's pro se motion should have been stricken as a nullity in Sheppard v. State is quashed and remanded to trial court where allegations that the lawyer misadvised the defendant, misrepresented the terms of the plea, or coerced the defendant into accepting the plea creates an adversarial relationship where the lawyer cannot both represent his client and refute the allegations. In narrow circumstances such as these, the defendant has in effect requested discharge of counsel and the pleading should not be stricken as a nullity.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/27/2009
• Published 08/27/2009

Judges

• PARIENTE, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of Florida

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and Richard P. Albertine, Jr., Assistant Public Defender, Tenth Judicial Circuit, Bartow, FL, for Petitioner.


• For Appellees:
  
• Bill McCollum, Attorney General, Robert J. Krauss, Bureau Chief, and Patricia A. McCarthy, Assistant Attorneys General, Tampa, FL, for Respondent.