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CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE?

By JAABLOG

Who should be attending first appearances?Rules panel finds the answer is not as clear as it might appearBy Jan PudlowSenior Editor/The Florida Bar News© 2008 The Florida Bar A hotly debated issue boiled over at The Florida Bar Criminal Procedure Rules Committee: Should both prosecutor and public defender be required to attend all first appearance proceedings?If you thought both sides already do attend those critical hearings ? held within 24 hours of arrest, when judges consider defendants? release on recognizance or set bail, review the sufficiency of probable cause affidavits, and appoint public defenders if the defendant cannot afford to hire attorneys ? you are in for a surprise. At a packed room in Miami at the Bar?s Midyear Meeting January 18, lawyers practicing in urban areas were shocked to learn that, in some rural areas of Florida, first appearance hearings are held before the crack of dawn to fit in with judges? hunting plans ? and often a court reporter is not present to preserve the record for appeal, leaving only a clerk jotting quick notes in the file...continue to full post

Full post as published by JAABlog on February 11, 2008 (boomark / email).