Florida Legislature sends measure to provide greater protections to defense counsel to the governor
Eric Atria and and his boss, Candice Brower, the Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel. Atria was surprised at the amount of positive attention the bill received and he initially thought he’d get quite a lot of pushback because this law did not exist yet.
Following successful passage in both chambers of the Florida Legislature this week, the measure offering greater protections to defense counsel by enhancing the penalties for anyone who attacks any court-appointed officer is headed to Gov. DeSantis’ desk for signature.
SB 384, sponsored by Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island, passed through the Senate April 12 by a unanimous 40-0 vote, which was then sent to the House. The measure would amend F.S. §775.0823 and makes it a felony to attack a defense attorney or public defender acting in their courtroom capacity.
Prosecutors and judges are already afforded that protection, but up until now defense counsel was left out of the statute.
“All officers of the court do not have the same protection while serving in their official capacity,” Bradley told the upper chamber. “This bill corrects that injustice by adding defense attorneys in a criminal proceeding.”
The legislation came to light this session following the vicious attack on Gainesville defense attorney Eric Atria who was representing his criminally charged client during a trial in an Alachua County courtroom. Without warning, Obadiah Dillard viciously attacked his counsel, punching him on the left side of the face and fracturing his skull.
Since then Atria has been a vocal proponent of the measure, traveling to Tallahassee multiple times to tell legislators his story.
During final passage in the Senate, Bradley took a moment to recognize Atria and his family who were in attendance.
“Eric…has been such a strong advocate,” Bradley told the Senate. “Justice will be better served because of you and your advocacy.”
Prior to its hearing in the Senate, Atria sat down with the News for an exclusive interview and says that watching government work has been truly eye-opening.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Atria said. “The strange thing for me was I feel like as I get older, I get less political, but watching what I’ve seen in the committees I’ve been in has been seamless and non-combative.”
Atria was surprised at the amount of positive attention the bill received and he initially thought he’d get quite a lot of pushback because this law did not exist yet.
“We know that there were some organizations on the defense bar side that were against this bill, Atria said. “We didn’t understand that logic, but I thought there would be more of a fight to get it through.”
Atria was initially uncomfortable speaking to legislators. He said something felt wrong during his initial testimony but then realized it was internal as he never made such an argument before.
“Defense counsel praises themselves as defenders of the Constitution and makes sure the power of the state is in check,” Atria said. “We get up on that high horse and justifiably so to almost lose sight of the fact that we can take the position that they can’t hit us.”
During a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee March 14, companion bill sponsor Rep. Patt Maney, R-Shalimar, said treating the defense attorneys like prosecutors is also a matter of recruitment and retention.
“Why should you take a job, one job over another one, if you’re protected and one if you’re not protected?” Maney asked. A point which Atria wholeheartedly agreed with.
“Right now, state attorneys and public defender offices cannot fully staff themselves across the state,” Atria said. “So, if I’m 24 years old leaving law school and I’m going to go to a job, which job am I going to take? The one that protects me or the one that doesn’t.”
Recalling the attack, Atria said his client’s actions were completely calculated. He said that jury selection was the day before and there was no jeopardy attached because they were not sworn in yet.
Additionally, the attack came on the same day the victim, who could identify Dillard, was scheduled to take the stand.
“He was calculating how much can I get away with before they get to me,” Atria said. “He also absolutely understood the concept of the time to do it. He thought that if the witness testified, he’d be identified so let me stop it before it started.”
Atria was rushed to the emergency room, where his wife and his boss, Candice Brower, the Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel for the area covered by the First District Court of Appeal, were there to meet him.
On January 4, Brower told the News that Eric’s attack shook her to her core.
“My immediate reaction was horror,” Brower said. “I literally screamed and ran to the hospital, and it was so hard. He’s a hardworking public servant and it broke my heart.”
Atria said that Brower has been a champion for this legislation.
“My wife and Candace were the only two people to come to the emergency room,” Atria said. “She said she needed to make sure I was OK immediately, and that we’re all OK going forward.”
Atria said that up until the moment of the attack, he was ignoring Dillard to stay focused on the task at hand. He said that a defendant acting up at the counsel table on trial is more common than one would think. However, Atria now says he always keeps a close watch on his clients.
“I now open my stance in a courtroom to face a defendant and then turn my head to the judge while continually making eye contact with the defendant,” Atria said. “This one knew I wasn’t paying attention and that’s another factor in the whole puzzle.”
Atria said since the entire incident was caught on camera that the video speaks louder than anything else could. He recalled a story of hearing a friend watch the video for the first time.
“I really didn’t appreciate the sound it made and hearing it over the phone I was thinking, ‘That was my skull!’” Atria said.
The Florida House took up the Senate’s version on April 13, and the video made a believer out of Rep. Mike Gottlieb, D-Davie, who voted down on the bill twice in its prior committee stops. Throughout the process, Gottlieb, a criminal defense attorney himself, said this bill had him torn throughout much of the process.
“Members, I’m not down on the bill,” Gottlieb said. “I voted down on the bill twice [in committee]. Rep. Maney, you convinced me, I’ve seen the video.”
Gottlieb said as a criminal defense attorney many of the clients have a mental illness, and if they were to hit their attorney it generally isn’t done out of malice. However, he stated that Dillard’s attack on Atria was 100% malicious.
“The defendant indicated that he did not want to go to trial,” Gottlieb said. “He did not want to go to prison. He’s been able to delay the system for two years and now they can’t even get anybody to represent him because the punch was so violent. I urge anyone who is up on this bill, to watch the video. It’s really horrible. Rep. Maney you did a great job on this bill and I’m proud to vote up on it.”
The full House gave Gottlieb a standing ovation for changing his position and passed the measure unanimously.
Maney said this legislation is designed to even the playing field between defense attorneys and prosecutors and judges.
“This is an important bill,” Maney said. “It’s a simple bill, but when people go to the courthouse, they ought to feel safe and it ought to be safe.”
Atria says he’s happy for the bill’s passage and hopes to advocate for additional legislation in the future.
“My whole experience with this bill started with an ambulance,” Atria said. “I didn’t know how bad it was, but something came to me that said maybe you’re OK. From that moment everything was OK. Whatever came to me has been the wave that I have ridden, and I’m fine.”
