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James Dale Holcombe v. Florida

Paid petition · District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District, No. 5D18-3338 · judgment September 14, 2020

Certiorari denied · February 28, 2022
Pre-decision estimate: 2% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

  1. Whether a criminal defendant establishes an “actual” conflict of interest that adversely affects counsel’s representation when the attorney engages in “joint and dual” representation – i.e., simultaneously representing both the defendant and a key prosecution witness during a trial.

  2. Whether the “presumed prejudice” conflict of interest standard applies when the prosecutor (rather than defense counsel) puts the trial judge on notice at the beginning of a trial of defense counsel’s conflict of interest – a conflict which is described by the prosecutor as “not waiveable” – and the judge thereafter fails to inquire into the nature and scope of the conflict.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Michael Robert Ufferman
Michael Ufferman Law Firm, P.A.

For respondent
Carolyn M. Snurkowski
Office of the Attorney General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 12 conferences

Argument & decision

Decided February 28, 2022.

Proceedings

  1. Feb 28 2022
    Petition DENIED. Justice Sotomayor, dissenting from the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion)
  2. Feb 22 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/25/2022.
  3. Feb 11 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/18/2022.
  4. Jan 18 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/21/2022.
  5. Jan 10 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/14/2022.
  6. Jan 03 2022
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/7/2022.
  7. Dec 06 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/10/2021.
  8. Nov 29 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/3/2021.
  9. Nov 15 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/19/2021.
  10. Nov 08 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/12/2021.
  11. Nov 01 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/5/2021.
  12. Oct 06 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/29/2021.
  13. Oct 05 2021
    Reply of petitioner James Dale Holcombe filed. (Distributed)
    Main DocumentProof of ServiceCertificate of Word Count
  14. Sep 22 2021
    Brief of respondent Florida in opposition filed.
    Main DocumentOtherCertificate of Word CountProof of ServiceOther
  15. Aug 23 2021
    Response Requested. (Due September 22, 2021)
  16. Aug 18 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
  17. Aug 16 2021
    Waiver of right of respondent State of Florida to respond filed.
    Main Document
  18. Jul 01 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 16, 2021)
    PetitionAppendixCertificate of Word CountProof of Service