Florida
Florida Death Row Appeal Raises Conflict Concerns After Defense Lawyer Joins AG’s Office
Efforts by a Jacksonville man to fight his execution were thrown for a loss when his main lawyer took a new job – with the agency that is fighting his efforts. The post Lawyer fighting client’s execution gets new job…
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Key points
- Florida death row inmate Kenneth Hartley requested a transfer of his appellate prosecution after his former defense lawyer joined the Florida Attorney General‘s Office.
- Hartley’s defense team argued that the career change created a potential conflict regarding confidential trial strategies and privileged communications.
- A circuit judge denied the transfer motion without an evidentiary hearing, with Hartley’s next court date set for October.
NewsWK — A Florida death row inmate’s post-conviction defense team is challenging the state’s legal representation after his former lead attorney accepted a position with the Florida Attorney General’s Office, raising procedural and constitutional questions in the capital case.
Kenneth Hartley, who was convicted in 1993 in the murder of 17-year-old Gino Mayhew, had been represented since 2020 by Elizabeth Spiaggi through the state-funded Capital Collateral Regional Counsels. Spiaggi recently took a position with the Tallahassee bureau of the Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division—the agency tasked with upholding Hartley’s conviction and sentence on appeal.
According to a report first published by The Florida Trib, Hartley’s current pro bono defense attorneys petitioned to transfer the state’s side of the litigation to a different regional bureau within the Attorney General’s Office. Defense filings argued that Spiaggi was “entrusted with his confidences and privy to every aspect of his litigation strategy” during her years representing him.
Procedural Rulings and Judicial Precedent
Hartley’s post-conviction appeal centers on claims of prosecutorial misconduct and the credibility of trial witnesses. His defense team notes that no physical evidence connected Hartley or his co-defendants to the truck where Mayhew was killed, arguing the original conviction relied heavily on informant and eyewitness testimonies that have since been challenged.
Circuit Judge Kite denied Hartley’s motion to transfer the case to another Attorney General division without holding an evidentiary hearing. Court records show that similar conflict-of-interest challenges in Florida have yielded various procedural safeguards.
In a 2023 Clay County case involving defendant Hector Sanchez-Torres, a circuit judge implemented strict ethical screening protocols after a public defender joined the local State Attorney’s Office. In that matter, the judge permitted the prosecution team to remain on the case only after placing the attorney under oath and prohibiting her from viewing defense files or discussing the case with state prosecutors.
Hartley’s post-conviction motion remains before the court, with the next status hearing scheduled for October.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by our editorial team.
Based on reporting by Nichole Manna originally published by The Florida Trib. Read the original story.
