Court Appointed Counsel/Registry

The Sixteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida is committed to fostering strong partnerships between the judiciary and the local legal community. We welcome the participation of qualified attorneys who are interested in serving the courts and the citizens of Monroe County through court-appointed representation.

One way attorneys may become involved is by applying to be included on one or more court-appointed counsel registries (commonly referred to as “wheel”). Attorneys listed on these registries become eligible to receive court appointments in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and administrative orders.

Pursuant to Section 27.40, Florida Statutes, the Chief Judge of each judicial circuit is required to compile and maintain a list of attorneys in private practice, organized by category of cases, who are available for court appointment when the Public Defender and the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel are unable to provide representation due to a conflict of interest. These registries consist of qualified attorneys engaged in private practice who are available to accept such appointments.

The information below provides registry and wheel application requirements, eligibility criteria, and contact information for each registry.

To be included on a court-appointed counsel registry, an attorney must have an active contract for services with the Florida Justice Administrative Commission (JAC). Attorneys are encouraged to review the JAC Policies and Procedures, which contain important information regarding contracting requirements, billing procedures, and compensation guidelines.

The Court-Appointed Registry comprises a rotating list of attorneys available for appointment across various case types, including:

• Criminal (capital, felony, misdemeanor, juvenile delinquency, post-conviction, and appeals)
• Juvenile Dependency (termination of parental rights (TPR) and appeals)
• Juvenile Delinquency
• Guardianship
• Baker/Marchman Acts
• Certain civil matters involving children

For additional information regarding registry participation, please refer to the links below or contact the registry coordinator at Cheryl.Alfonso@KeysCourts.net or (305) 295-3652.

COURT APPOINTED ATTORNEY APPLICATION AND INFORMATION

If you are interested in being considered for appointment to the court-appointed attorney registry in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, please submit applications to:

Download Application

16^th Judicial Circuit
Attn: Court Operations Manager
302 Fleming Street
Key West, Florida 33040

OR

Cheryl.Alfonso@keyscourts.net

Appointment Information:

1. Pursuant to Florida Statute 27.40(b), the Court shall appoint attorneys in rotating order in the order in which names appear on the applicable registry, unless the Court makes a finding of good cause on the record for appointing an attorney out of order. An attorney not appointed in the order in which his or her name appears on the list shall remain next in order.
2. The Court makes no representations as to the number of cases to which the attorney may be appointed. The number of available cases (i.e., those in which the Office of the Public Defender and/or the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel cannot provide representation) and the number of attorneys included on the Circuit’s registry will impact the frequency of appointments.

Application Information:

1. Attorneys seeking court-appointed cases in the Ninth Judicial Circuit shall submit a completed application.  All applications will be reviewed for placement on the Court Appointed Attorney Registry.
2. Once the selection process is completed, you will be notified whether you were selected and, if selected, what case types you were selected for.
3. Once selected, the attorney must sign a contract with the Justice Administrative Commission (JAC). Failure to comply with the contract terms may result in termination of the contract and removal from the registry.
4. Each attorney is responsible for notifying Court Administration, and the Justice Administrative Commission of any change in his or her status.

Required Notification Information:

Any attorney who is disbarred, suspended, etc., or is otherwise the subject of discipline by the Florida Bar or who has had a legal malpractice case filed against him/her, must notify Court Administration within seven (7) days of the filing of the complaint, order or other charging document.  In addition, any attorney who is under criminal investigation or has pending criminal charges against him/her must immediately notify Court Administration.  Failure to provide such information may result in his/her immediate removal from the registry.

Administrative Order 2.071141/14.01

Links:

Justice Administrative Commission (JAC) Policies and Procedures – https://www.justiceadmin.org/court_app_counsel/index.aspx

Court Appointed Attorney Flat Rate Fee, Costs or Related Expenses and Forms – Forms and Rates