James Robertson, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee

Summary

The Supreme Court of Florida denied appellate counsel’s motion to withdraw from representing death‑sentenced prisoner James Robertson, holding that the Court’s mandatory automatic review of death sentences requires counsel to continue representation regardless of the defendant’s desire to forego appeal. The decision rests on constitutional and statutory mandates and longstanding precedent requiring adversarial advocacy in capital cases. A dissent argued that the defendant’s fundamental right to waive the appeal was infringed.