Miami-Herald. The court did not rule that such conditions exist at this time and it remanded the matter for a factual finding on that point. Excerpts:
"Third-degree felony attorneys often have as many as fifty cases set for trial in one week because of the excessive caseload. Attorneys are routinely unable to interview clients, conduct investigations, take depositions, prepare mitigation, or counsel clients about pleas offered at arraignment."
"Consistent with the analysis above, we quash the Third District’s decision in Public Defender and quash in part and affirm in part its decision in Bowens. We also remand for the trial court to determine if the circumstances still warrant granting the Public Defender’s motion to decline appointments in future third-degree felony cases under the standards approved in this decision."
(h/t: 360 News)