Attorney Richard Adam Sichta's Legal Cases

Appeals

State v. Bright, 2016 Fla. LEXIS 1254

Jun 16, 2016

OUTCOME: Death penalty (x2) vacated and remanded for resentencing

Mr. Bright's two death-sentences reversed. The postconviction court properly found that defendant was denied his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel during the penalty phase becaus ... e counsel failed to investigate and provide sufficient background information to the mental health expert counsel retained and failed to conduct an adequate mental health investigation and present the results of that investigation to the jury and sentencing court for the purposes of mitigation, and defendant was prejudiced by counsel's deficient performance

Appeals

Salazar v. State, 188 So. 3d 799

Feb 18, 2016

OUTCOME: Death penalty reversed and remanded for resentencing

Death sentence reversed. The inmate received ineffective assistance of counsel because, during the penalty phase, counsel was deficient for failing to investigate his background and intellectual funct ... ioning as mitigating evidence in the capital case. Because trial counsel was directly informed of mental health problems and possible organic brain damage with a written report from the expert counsel hired, the lack of investigation was not reasonable.

Appeals

Bossen v. Justice Admin. Comm'n, 122 So. 3d 997 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013)

Oct 11, 2013

OUTCOME: Petition granted, case reversed

Finding trial court departed from the essential requirements of the law by finding the fee award was not confiscatory without first making a finding regarding the reasonable number of hours expended by ... petitioner.

Appeals

Fletcher v. Justice Administrative Commission, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 5471

Apr 04, 2013

OUTCOME: Petition granted, remanded

The attorney argued, in part, that the trial court erred in failing to make a finding as to the reasonable number of hours he worked in representing his client. The court agreed. When awarding fees pur ... suant to § 27.5304(12), Fla. Stat. (2012), the trial court was required to make a finding as to the reasonable number of hours expended by counsel in the case before it could determine whether a fee award would be confiscatory. The trial court never made any findings regarding the reasonable number of hours expended by the attorney when it determined that $35,000 was an appropriate fee. That was a departure from the essential requirements of the law. OUTCOME: The court granted the petition, quashed the fee award, and remanded for reconsideration.

Appeals

Schlax v. Justice Administrative Commission, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 5395

Apr 03, 2013

OUTCOME: Petition granted, remanded

Petitioner, Julie A. Schlax, seeks review of an order awarding her $17,000 in attorney's fees for representing an indigent criminal defendant in a capital case, instead of the $23,670 she requested. Pe ... titioner argues that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of the law in two ways. First, she argues that the trial court erred in limiting her fees without making a finding as to the reasonable number of hours she worked in representing her client. Second, she argues that the trial court impermissibly considered the court's budget when it limited her fee award. For the reasons explained in Fletcher v. Justice Administrative Commission, 1D12-5709, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 5471 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013), we grant the petition, quash the fee award, and remand for reconsideration. If the trial [*2] court determines that an award greater than the statutory cap is justified, it should make the appropriate findings to support the award. PETITION GRANTED.

Appeals

Baker v. State, 36 Fla. L. Weekly D 275 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)

Feb 07, 2011

OUTCOME: Reversed and Remanded for hearing

Appellant appealed an order denying his petition to expunge his criminal history records related to a charge that the state elected not to pursue. He argued that the trial court's reasons for denying h ... is petition were not sufficiently related to the particular facts and circumstances of his case. The appeals court agreed, and reversed and remanded the case for reconsideration.

Constitutional

Criminal Specialist Investigations, Inc. v. State, 36 Fla. L. Weekly D 274 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)

Feb 07, 2011

OUTCOME: Petition granted, order under review quashed and case remanded

Petitioner investigation company sought a writ of certiorari to quash the trial court's order that denied a motion for additional mitigation coordinator fees in a capital case. The record in the instan ... t case did not reflect that the trial court gave case-specific consideration to the reasonableness and necessity of the costs the defense incurred in hiring the company. Because such consideration was required by Florida law, the trial court's handling of hte motion was a departure from the essential requirements of the law.

Appeals

Townsend v. State, Case No.: 16-2007-CF-9010-BXXX

Oct 29, 2009

OUTCOME: Motion to Correct an Illegal Sentence granted

Order of Community Control entered on July 1, 2008, sentencing the defendant to 3 years incarceration followed by 3 years community control struck, as the sentence differed from the oral sentence of th ... ree years of incarceration followed by three years probation. The orally pronounced sentence controls.

Appeals

Hardee v. State, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 14397

Sep 25, 2009

OUTCOME: Reversed and remanded for new trial

Life sentence for second-degree murder conviction with a weapon reversed for new trial. Trial court erred in instructing jury on lesser included offense of manslaughter by act.

Appeals

Sears v. State

Sep 24, 2009

OUTCOME: Reversed and remanded for new trial

Defendant serving 15 year prison sentence. New trial awarded based on Richardson violation of a state witness not previously discovered to defense and used to rebut defendant’s defense of entrapment, a ... nd counsel's failure to object to same.

Richard Adam Sichta's Legal Cases (17)

State v. Bright, 2016 Fla. LEXIS 1254

Salazar v. State, 188 So. 3d 799

Bossen v. Justice Admin. Comm'n, 122 So. 3d 997 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013)

Fletcher v. Justice Administrative Commission, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 5471

Schlax v. Justice Administrative Commission, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 5395

Baker v. State, 36 Fla. L. Weekly D 275 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)

Criminal Specialist Investigations, Inc. v. State, 36 Fla. L. Weekly D 274 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)

Townsend v. State, Case No.: 16-2007-CF-9010-BXXX

Hardee v. State, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 14397

Sears v. State