JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A court-appointed attorney for former Jacksonville city councilman Reggie Brown has asked a federal judge to allow her to withdraw from the case, over a disagreement over appeals of his conviction.
In November, the 11th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals denied Brown’s appeal, which had been filed by attorney Valarie Linnen, raising several issues from the trial. Brown later asked for a rehearing by either a three-judge panel or the full 11th Circuit court. That request was denied this month.
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In Linnen’s motion, filed Wednesday, she writes that she has previously filed petitions with the U.S. Supreme Court, but does not believe that this case warrants a Supreme Court review, because it does not meet one of several legal criteria, such as a conflict between decisions by different federal circuit courts. Linnen also writes that Florida Bar rules prevent attorneys from bringing any legal actions that are known to be frivolous or lacking merit.
According to the motion, Linnen discussed the appeals process with Brown, who disagreed with the attorney’s assessment, and asked her to withdraw from the case.
While Brown has completed his prison sentence, he currently faces the forfeiture of his home, as part of the sentence against him. Brown previously asked the court to delay that forfeiture until all of his appeals were exhausted, including a possible motion that would argue ineffective assistance of counsel during trial, known as a Form 2255 motion. Brown was represented by a different court-appointed attorney for the 2019 trial.
Prosecutors responded to Brown’s request for a delay, saying they were not opposed to a delay until the appeals process was completed, but opposed delaying the forfeiture until any potential Form 2255 motions were resolved. Following the appellate court’s decision to not rehear Brown’s appeal, making its decision official, prosecutors revised their response, to oppose any request to delay the forfeiture.
A judge has not yet ruled on Brown’s request to delay the forfeiture. It will also be up to a judge to rule on Linnen’s request to withdraw from the case.
Reggie Brown and former Jacksonville City Councilwoman Katrina Brown, who is not related, were convicted in 2019 on federal charges including conspiracy and fraud, related to a federally-backed loan and city grant for Katrina Brown’s family’s barbecue sauce business.
They were eventually sentenced in fall 2020 and they started their sentences in January 2021. Reggie Brown was given 18 months in prison, and Katrina Brown was given 33 months in prison. Reggie Brown was released from prison on January 14. Experts say federal prisoners typically only serve about 85 percent of their sentences, if they show good behavior, and spend the end of their sentences in a halfway house or home confinement to help with rehabilitation and reintegration to society.