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Brantley v. State
Citations: 773 So. 2d 1199; 2000 Fla. App. LEXIS 15929; 2000 WL 1781375Docket: No. 3D00-859
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; December 5, 2000; Florida; State Appellate Court
Kareem Brantley appeals the order revoking his probation, which is reversed and remanded for a new hearing due to a procedural error by the trial court. The court improperly denied Brantley's request to be represented by privately retained counsel on the day of the revocation hearing. Although the request was made last minute, Brantley did not seek a continuance, and there was no evidence suggesting that the request was intended to delay proceedings. He expressed dissatisfaction with his court-appointed counsel for failing to investigate or call witnesses and indicated that his family attorney, who was present in court, had been contacted earlier. The court's denial of Brantley’s Sixth Amendment right to choose his counsel was deemed improper, as there was no indication of bad faith on his part. The ruling cites precedent from Foster v. State while distinguishing it from Evans v. State, where a last-minute request was denied due to lack of prior engagement with a private attorney. The decision to revoke probation is therefore reversed, and a new hearing is mandated.